Scarlet Demon of Konoha
by Ronin2106
Summary: Having been disinherited and all but abandoned by everyone, Naruto Uzumaki channels his rage and fury in becoming better in all that he can. As he nears the end of his Academy tenure, he meets a family that is kind and understanding to him, being of his own, Uzumaki blood. With the help of last Uzumaki members, Naruto shall rise not as victim, but as Scarlet Demon of Konoha.
1. Chapter 1

**Konoha Academy. 9 years after the Kyuubi Incident.**

The A class was buzzing with activity of all sorts. Ino, Sakura and most of the girls going crazy and wild with their proclamations of love towards either Sasuke Uchiha, the residential emo pretty boy, or Menma Namikaze, the "hero" of Konoha that saved it with his sister via being used as vessels of Yin and Yang halves of Kyuubi. Narumi Uzumaki, Menma's sister and second "hero", was being pestered by her own fan base, enjoying the well-deserved, as she believed, attention to her persona, just as her twin brother.

After all, they were the children of Forth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Head of Uzumaki Clan Kushina Uzumaki, both legends that have protected this village from Kyuubi. And they, their children, were the chosen ones to be the Heroes of Konoha, to protect it by being keeping Kyuubi's power in them and putting it in good use for Konoha. What higher honor and dignity there could be, being Konoha's pride and glory, and only they deserved it…

Some of the students, like Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame, kept to themselves trying their best not to get drawn into this chaos. Hinata Hyuuga, young heiress of Hyuuga Clan, was silently taking quick glances at one person that was an object of her interest, who simply sat on his seat with a book, waiting for the day to end finally. The said person was one that stood out from the entire classroom because of several reasons.

The first one being the fact of him being older than all of the kids in class by 3 years, including his "heroic" siblings. The second one was a seeming isolation of him, as there were several seats in front of him completely desolate, while he sat seemingly in the far edge of class room, a seat usually reserved for those that didn't have the best behavior or the reputation, or both at the same time. And he did not have either, as Naruto Uzumaki, for that was his name, is considered to be a disgrace and seeming failure of Clans Namikaze and Uzumaki, especially in front of his far more stellar and "heroic" siblings…

Heroic… The very word had an infuriating effect on Naruto, for it constantly reminded him that those two brats were better than him, deserved more than him, and were loved by their parents far more. And Konoha's population was practically decreed to worship those two like they were deities. Menma and Narumi reveled in this, enjoyed themselves from the very childhood, with their ego and pride growing every year, as they themselves did, under careful and loving watch of their parents. And at the same time, out in the shadows stood a lonely and forgotten boy, whose purple eyes swelled with tears of sadness, hidden underneath his blood red hair.

Naruto, being 12 years old, couldn't even remember when did his parents stop caring for him completely, putting him out of their minds and hearts in place for their younger children. He couldn't remember the last time his "father" and "mother" even simply spent time together. Nor could he remember the moment when did he was fully taken out of their minds, as they've stopped taking him out on celebrations, or even remember the fact that October 10th was not just Menma's and Narumi's birthday, but also their elder brother's, Naruto.

Naruto could not remember it all, but he did remember well when his happy life entered its epilogue.

* * *

 **Flashback. Namikaze-Uzumaki Residence. 5 years ago.**

7-year old Naruto was moving through the house with a book about chakra in his hand, hoping to read it outside in the yard. He could, of course, read it in the library, but the day was way too good to sit in the house, plus it was a book with practical application, one which he was going to put to use. Being a son of two legendary shinobi of Konoha, it was obvious that Naruto had wanted to be much like his parents, and the first thing every shinobi needed was an unlocked Chakra. A couple of days ago Naruto did ask his parents to unlock it, but they turned him down, telling that he was still too young for this, and that it would be best to wait at least a year more.

This statement saddened Naruto, as he had heard from some other kids that most get their chakra unlocked at age of 6 or 7. It didn't make much of sense to young Naruto, as to why would his parents not unlock his own chakra, especially when it was the right time anyway? Then he deduced that it was probably because of his dad being really busy as Hokage, while mom had to watch over the twins, so Naruto understood and decided to unlock his Chakra on his own. Their library was filled with Jutsu, books on techniques and much other stuff, including basics with chakra, so it was easy for Naruto to find the needed book and get ready for the important moment. Plus, if he did it on his own, then his parents would probably be proud of him and treat him to his favorite dish in the world, ramen.

Naruto had traversed the house quickly and was already at the entrance of yard, when he was stopped by the sight of his parents, Minato and Kushina, watching his younger siblings Menma, a copy of his dad with spiky blond eyes and blue eyes, and Narumi, a small model of Kushina with her vibrant red straight hair and purple eyes, training. The sight had confused Naruto, to say the least, as he couldn't understand: why would his parents start training his younger siblings over him? As he stepped onto the grass, Minato and Kushina quickly turned around and went to their eldest, curious to see him with a book.

"Naruto-kun, did you want something, dear?" Kushina smiled to him, not noticing the perplexed and confused look of her eldest. "If it's nothing important, can it wait? Menma-kun and Narumi-chan need our attention right now."

"Um, Kaa-chan, Tou-san, what's going on?" Naruto bluntly asked of them, causing the two parents exchange looks with each other. "What are Menma and Narumi doing?"

"Your mother and I have decided that it would be best if we started their training a bit earlier, Naruto." Minato replied with smile to his son. "You know that they hold both halves of Kyuubi, and it is very important that they had learned how to properly control their and it's Chakra early on. Hm, what is that you have there?" Minato looked at his son's arms, before taking from him the book. "Basics on Chakra, hm? Naruto, why would you need this?"

"To… to unlock my Chakra." Naruto simply said to Minato and Kushina. "I thought that you were too busy and had no time, so…"

"Naruto, we already had this talk before, dear." Kushina kneeled before him and kissed him on the forehead. "I know that you want to make us both proud, but you are not yet ready for this. Just wait another year, and I promise you that we will unlock your chakra."

"But… But why not now?" Naruto asked, being confused at the response after the sight in front of him. "If Menma and Narumi can train, so can I. And I'm bigger than them."

"Naruto, we told you already, that Menma and Narumi need to start earlier, and we have to make sure that they do everything properly. Just because you are older than them does not mean you are better than them." Kushina said in a more stern tone of voice, nearly making Naruto wince. "Your father and I have decided and that is it: next year, we'll see if we can unlock your chakra and maybe let you train with twins."

"B-but…" Naruto couldn't even fully understand why his parents were stating that, but he was cut off again.

"Naruto, your mother has said it. Go back to your room and think about our words. You are a smart boy, you'll understand that we mean only good for you. Now, go." Minato softly, but with small force, said to his son, with Naruto giving up and turning around and walking back in the house, confused and saddened, while his parents turned back to the twins. "Alright, Menma, Narumi, it's time that we've unlocked your chakra, so get ready…" Unbeknownst to the parents, or the cheering twins, Naruto heard that, and it didn't make sense to him, while also saddening and, for the first time, making Naruto angry.

As he went into his room, he played the entire conversation in his mind, trying to understand what his parents meant. His dad was right when he said that Naruto was smart, as he really was smart, smarter than even some kids twice his age. He was always good when it came down to picking on the details and small things, as well as observing the whole thing at the same time.

He could understand that his siblings held Kyuubi in them and because of this may've needed to be trained more than others. But, couldn't his parents' train him with them at the same time, or have one of them train him while the other one watches over the twins. At the very least, couldn't Mom or Dad have one of their Shadow Clones watch over him or twins, as Naruto knew they could make them and already saw it done. It did not make any sense to him… Until he picked up on the word "better" from that entire talk.

 _"Dad once said that a Shinobi should look underneath the obvious… Could it be that I should be better than Menma and Narumi?"_ Naruto thought to himself. _"I am the eldest, and it means I have to be better than them. They didn't like me training with them, but what if I were to train not with them? It would difficult, but not impossible… I'll need to get a couple more books, and find a good place to train. They probably just need a lot of space and I would only get in the way…"_ And with those thoughts, Naruto, unknowingly to even himself, created a crack that would later become the abyss in relationships with his family.

* * *

 **End Flashback.**

Naruto really did think back then that if he were to become better, than his parents would be proud of him. After all, parents praised their kids all the time when they learned something new or had gotten better at something, especially on their own. He reasoned that his parents would be proud if he were to do the same thing and set out to become the best there was at being a Shinobi, as just a couple of days later he found the desolate training field, many books on Taijutsu, Chakra, Natures and more, and began to train.

Naruto, though young, could understand that it was always better to train with someone who could watch over you, but even without it, he believed that he could do well. And through sweat, exhaustion, aching muscles, bleeding knuckles, pain all over his body, Naruto had done what many could only hope for. In mere two years, Naruto not only had unlocked his Chakra, but already picked up the basic three Academy techniques, learned how to balance the leaf, as well as tree and water walking, not to mention becoming adequate in Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, for his age. He even learned how to make the Shadow Clone Jutsu like his parents. Turns out, Naruto had not just a lot of chakra, but abnormally a lot, which meant that controlling it all was really hard, but he still managed to do so. Young redhead believed that it was because of him being a member of Uzumaki Clan, a Clan known for possessing extremely large chakra reserves, as he had learned from books, for he sharpened his mind as well as his body.

Days, weeks and months have passed for Naruto in endless trainings, studies and practices, which had served to alienate the young boy from his family and everyone else around him. He did not even notice that his parents had started spending less and less time with him, or that presents and congratulations on his birthday disappeared and the very day of his birth was forgotten. He did not notice when Konoha's civilians no longer had recognized him as son of Hokage and his wife, nor did he realize that to the most of the world he started to become nothing, including to his parents…

Until _that day_ , three years ago…

* * *

 **Flashback. October 10** **th**

The party was in full swing, as kids were having fun and congratulating the twins, while their parents, most of whom were Heads of Clans, conversed with Minato and Kushina, sharing drinks and eating food, while Jiraiya and Tsunade, the godparents of Menma and Narumi, gifted them their respective Summoning Contracts on Toad and Slug. The entire picture seemed absolutely perfect, safe for the lone young boy with messy red hair and sad purple eyes standing aside and looking at this entire thing, and seeing that he was completely unwelcomed here.

Just like a year before, he received neither the presents, nor congratulations, or even was called out. Back then, Naruto simply thought that everyone was too busy and they kinda forgot… Granted, it was a weak excuse, but it was something, because there was no way that his mom and dad would forget that this was also his birthday.

Right?

And now, Naruto was seeing the exact same thing happening before his eyes, but if back then it only confused and hurt a little… Now it hurt a lot, _and_ made him feel… angry. To see everyone just _forget_ about him and go about this day like he did not even exist, especially his parents and twin siblings…

It hurt, _a lot_ , especially considering that Naruto had put his mind and body through the most effective and best, in his own opinion, training course. In just six months, Naruto had learned more than his siblings did in all these 2 years under dad and mom, and now, Naruto could probably take on any Genin and kick his butt. He may've not learned his dad's Hummingbird style, or any Uzumaki style their mom had practiced, but he did learn Hapkido, Aikido, Wing Chun, even some of restricted only to ANBU Black Ops Krav Maga. His knuckles and legs were now covered in scarred skin, as he had literally trained to the bone, but the results were worth it. Hell, he even knew that he had Fire and Lightning affinities already and knew three C rank Jutsu from each affinity. And his siblings were getting all of this, while he was left out?

His hand had clenched into a fist as his anger was starting to get the better of him, until he saw that his dad and mom were making an announcement, which piqued his interest.

"Thank you all, our dear friends, for coming today for this wonderful occasion. We are so grateful that you have attended tonight this celebration of our beloved twins Menma and Narumi's birthday." Minato started, not even noticing the small glare from his son at ignoring him. "As you all know, in two years we will admit them to the Shinobi Academy, alongside all of your young children and heirs, the future Shinobi and heroes of our village, who will carry on the Will of Fire. With that in mind, after much discussion and thought, my dear wife Kushina and I have decided, that it was time to finally announce our decision about succession of our respective Clans." Naruto cocked up his eyebrow up at this one.

 _"The laws state that the eldest child is an Heir of Clan or Clans, so why would Dad and Mom make some… decision… No, no, not after all this time, not this!"_ Naruto's mind raced at the speed of a lightning, realizing what his parents were really meaning by this. _"T-two years t-to better myself, and they…"_

"As of today, Menma Namikaze shall be officially known as the Heir of Namikaze Clan, while my dear daughter Narumi shall lead Clan Uzumaki after me." Kushina announced with the smile, as her children cheered, alongside the others, until someone forgotten not reminded of himself to them all.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto literally shouted out loud, with the entire room turning towards him, as he was seething with fury and unbridled rage. "Why the hell do Menma and Narumi get to be Heirs?! What about me?! I am your eldest son! I am the one who deserves it, not them!"

"Naruto, it's not what…" Kushina had tried to calm him down, but at this point there was no stopping Naruto, as his rage was in full possession of him.

"It's not what I think?! Do you think I'm dumb?! You can't make those two Heirs while I'm still part of both Clans! This is robbery! Why the fuck do these two get everything, while I'm forgotten and seemingly nonexistent to you all?!"

"Hah, that's 'cause you aren't born as Hero, and you don't even know how to hold a kunai right." Menma joked, with others laughing up as well. "Face it, Naruto, Mom and Dad are making you a favor, since you don't even have your Chakra unlocked. You are simply not even capable of having it." Menma taunted, earning a new round of laughs.

"Why don't you fucking come over here and we'll see if have Chakra or not, brat!" Naruto clenched his fists as he was already making his way to Menma, before he was stopped by his mother.

"Naruto, that is enough! Go back to your room and…" Kushina was ready to shout at him, but Naruto wasn't having any of it.

"NO! Why do you two do this to me?! What have I done to you?! Why did you forget about me?! This is my birthday too and…" As Naruto's eyes were starting to swell up with tears, Kushina stopped his rant… with her palm striking her son's cheek and sending him down to the floor.

Naruto fell onto the floor, shaking in shock, as his widened eyes looked at his enraged mother. The burning pain on his cheek was nothing when compared to the looks of his parents, guests, kids and twins, all of their emotions shown clearly to him: disappointment, anger, disgust and loathing… And not an ounce of pity or concern, not even from his parents. _Especially not_ from his parents, as Kushina forcefully picked Naruto up by his arm and led him out, right in front of everyone. Naruto did not even resist, as they went to his room, with Kushina literally throwing him in, with Naruto hitting the floor, before she spoke up, ignoring the quiet sobs and whimper of her eldest child.

"I hope you are happy with yourself, Naruto, because you've ruined not only your brother and sister's birthday, but also your entry to the Academy. You can also forget about any training or Chakra unlocking, because after this disaster the only place you'll get it will be the Academy, when you go there _with_ the twins!" Kushina coldly shouted at her son, who turned face her with the most heated glare he could muster. "And don't even look at me like that, young man! It is your own fault and now you'll have to pay for your actions. I've already told you, that just because you are eldest, does not mean you are the better one, and Menma and Narumi _are_ better than you. And because of that Minato and I've chose them over you as Heirs. Now stay here and think about what you have done, and once you are done, you'll go and apologize to your siblings and us for what you have done today!" With this, Kushina closed the door, nearly destroying it, leaving her son inside his dark room.

"Like hell I will…" Naruto simply said into the darkness, as he got up and sat on his bed, contemplating everything that had happened.

Two years… Two long, hard and painful years of training, studying and learning on his own and all of it was for naught. Broken fingers, strained muscles, migraines… all of it meant absolutely nothing now, as he finally started to realize the simple, yet cruel fact to himself: his parents simply loved Menma and Narumi over him. There was no more place for him in their hearts, and he probably even helped it, as he didn't even often see them at home or outside of it, as he was training and they were training the twins.

No, it was not _his_ fault! Naruto clenched his fists and rage, before he shot upwards, sending his fist into the wall, roaring with all of his fury and rage. When his fist connected with the wall, streaks of blood appeared and went down the wall. Pain shot in his brain, but Naruto simply shrugged it off, as he saw his hand bloodied and his fingers not even able to move. Not the first time when he had gone overboard, and he knew that his knuckle would get better later, like it always did.

But while his hand would heal, what had been done tonight… He would never let go of it. His parents… No, _those_ two had made him to sacrifice two years of his life just to "get better" for them, and this is how they respond. It was now crystal clear, that those two brats would forever and always be the favorites of Minato and Kushina, no matter what he had done to impress them or get their attention. It was completely and utterly pointless now for him to prove anything to them.

 _"To fucking hell with this… If those two idiots wanna see Menma and Narumi as my betters, so fucking be it!"_ Naruto angrily thought to himself. _"Disappoint them, my better… We'll see, Kushina, Minato… You can have your titles, fuck 'em! But I am not going to let it go, oh no… One day, I_ will _make you regret this. Kyuubi or not, but I_ will _make those brats regret_ your _decision. I swear on my own blood, blood of Naruto fucking Uzumaki!"_ Naruto gritted his teeth with a throaty growl escaping, akin to one of wolf, as he made his commitment.

* * *

 **End Flashback.**

His mother did keep her word, as no matter what, Naruto would not be admitted to the Academy, even when he had filed everything that was required. Nobody in the Academy would want to argue with Hokage's wife and Hokage himself, by extension, so Naruto had to wait two more years. And these two years were not happy ones, as after his outburst and disinheritance, Naruto had become a laughing stock of Konoha, a disgraced former Heir, which threw a temper tantrum over being passed over his more prestigious and glorious younger siblings. People of all ages and every position would either whisper or speak behind his back about what a failure he was, some of the dumber and bolder ones tried to pick on him, thinking he was easy picking.

Naruto proved them wrong. Many, many times over with them, their friends and buddies and whoever had tried to beat Naruto just for fun, being sent into hospitals with broken noses, bones, dislocated legs, shoulders and with enough black on them to play chess. Naruto had gotten in a fight with not just civilians, but also with members of Clans, beating most of them into a pulp, and it felt good. It had allowed to vent out pent up rage and anger, which Naruto had in plenty and more, thanks to this Village, his siblings, Minato and Kushina, _always_ reminding him _who_ were his better. Of course, Naruto was also getting beaten from time to time, but each time he would simply get up and strike harder and faster at those that beat him.

As if responding to his situation, rage and frustration, Naruto's body also started to change, speeding up the growth of bones, muscles and toughening them up. It was like every time Naruto was beaten, his body would adapt and grow stronger because of it. Couple that with near nerve-wrecking training regime Naruto set himself, by the time he got twelve, he looked like he was sixteen already. His chakra levels were also growing, and by now Naruto could say for certain that his Chakra was on the same level as a regular Jonin of this village. From what Naruto had deduced himself, it was probably due to some form of mutation of his Uzumaki bloodline, triggered by extreme stress and emotional distress, like with Sharingan of Uchiha Clan. It was only a theory, but it was something that Naruto was willing to bet money on.

And while his body and mind sharpened, his skills in combat and knowledge only grew, his relations with almost everyone in this village and his family deteriorated and became not just strained, but nearly on level of animosity. Anger and bitterness of Naruto towards his parents had never faded away, and he never forgave them, nor was he planning to, while Kushina and Minato, though sourly disappointed and distraught with their eldest, simply fully focused on their youngest kids, who continued to grow into stuck up arrogant brats.

People of the village now preferred to ignore Naruto and stay away from him, with many now taking to a liking of calling him a demon, due to his willingness and readiness to beat into a bloody pulp men and women, not even fearing incarceration, something that Naruto also became quite familiar with. At least twice a month he would end up in jail, either for another fight, or because someone had framed him for a crime or a particularly bad prank.

Minato would get him out, but not before Naruto had spent at least three or four days behind the bars. After that, it would be the usual lecture about the pride of his clan and how he was acting childishly and he should know better… At this point, it had become practically a running gag, with Minato still thinking he could make Naruto "better"…

By the time the Academy had started, Naruto was already wishing that it ended, as it was nothing more, but a constant repetition of already known history about founding, First, Second, Third and Fourth Hokage, Shinobi Wars, all made with a clearest flavor of propaganda and painting Konoha as the best of the best, all thanks to their great and mighty Will of Fire. Academics were something more interesting, but soon too became not enough for Naruto, as he had studied them before.

Overall, his hopes that Academy would prove to be something useful were gone, and now he was simply waiting for the Friday, as he had filled up a report to take up the major examination on Genin. Fortunately, laws of Konoha allowed it to be done, thanks to Second Hokage for that, and Naruto was going to be spending next 3 years in the same class as those two brats, while he could be doing something more productive. He would most certainly be stuck as reserve Genin, since this wasn't the time for team formations and examinations, but this still would be better. Plus, he would be able to finally get the hell out of his house, something he was looking forward to.

Having had enough of the ruckus around him and knowing that bell would ring in a second, Naruto packed up his books and went out, ignoring some random shouts towards him. Tomorrow, he'll finally be able to put this whole miserable place behind him. As Naruto walked out of the building, he picked up on clear sounds of some brats shouting and a girl in distress. Curious, he went ahead to take a look at what was going on. It didn't take him long to see that about four 14-year old Genins, all with red markings of Inuzuka on their faces, were picking on a young girl with long bright red hair and light blue eyes, dressed in a scarlet dress with silver lines one, followed by black short paints and sandals. She resembled Kushina, but only by hair color, as the girl looked close to nothing to that violent ogre, being very beautiful and cute in Naruto eyes. She seemed to be his own age, but also seemed older, somehow, just like with him.

"Oh, look what we have here, boys! A cutesy little student that wants to become a Genin." One of the assailants had stated, as the others have chuckled. "And one from a wealthy and powerful family. What, you think that money can buy you this headband, eh, bimbo?"

"Pl-please, I-I simply filed for an early exam and…" The girl stuttered, before one of the idiots had tried to grab her by a hip.

"Wow, she's packing some nice sets right here. What do you say, guys, want to give the girl the preliminary exam?" The perverted laughter was enough for Naruto to indicate that the girl was in trouble.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto didn't pick fights with those that didn't ask for it, or threw the first punch. No, he only ever struck after someone had tried to hit him, after that, it was fair game in his book. He would give at time a chance to back off, but very few did in this village, so he had plenty of chances to beat people down. Still, while Naruto had very little love for the people in this place, he did, however, care for those being picked on because of their weakness. He absolutely loathed and hated people who liked proving their power and strength by picking on those weaker or meak of character. These people were made more than half of whom Naruto sent to hospitals, and now that number would increase, as he stepped forward and yanked the arm of the assailant and nearly broke it, getting the needed attention.

"The lady's not interested." Naruto spoke in cold and threatening voice, drawing immediate attention to him. "Now get out of here, if you don't want to miss the next two Chuunin Exams."

"And who… the hell you think you are to boss us around?!" The captured Genin groaned, trying to get his hand out of the lock, but failing.

"Hey, I know this dickhead! It's Hokage's eldest brat, the one that got kicked out of inheritance in favor of his siblings." His friend on the left recognized Naruto. "You think we are scared of some weak-ass failure that doesn't even have his Chakra on, eh? Word of advice: split out of here, before we make you cry and wet your pants, boy."

"Clearly you haven't read the news, have you?" Naruto simply stated, before easily broke the wrist of his captive, making him cry out in pain, releasing his grip afterwards. "Well, let me show you, why you should have."

The next thing that followed was his friend on the left trying to throw a punch at Naruto, but he quickly used Kawarimi, replacing himself with the traumatized Genin, who received a punch in the face, knocking him out. Naruto did not waste time, kicking in the knee one of the Genins and sending a wrist into the second's face, breaking his nose. The first attacker had reached out for his kunai and ran towards Naruto, but a simple lock and disarming move on redhead's part, and another idiot tastes his blood and dust after a head-butt. The one that got kicked in the knee lost his footing and knelt, before being introduced directly to Naruto's boot, knocking him out. The last one had tried to blindly attack Naruto with his kunai, but that didn't do him much, as a simple punch in the gut finished them off. Naruto sighed, as he turned his attention at a stunned girl before speaking up.

"Are you okay, Ms.?" He spoke to her directly, breaking her stun, as she nodded to him.

"Y-yes, thank you." She nodded to him, looking at the beaten up Genins. "Won't you get into trouble because of this? They are Genins and it is a capital crime to assault a Shinobi like that."

"I'll probably spend a week or two in a cell for this after Hokage gets the wind about this, but better that then having these degenerates pick on women just to get their junk working again." Naruto said bluntly to the girl. "It's nothing new for me, so don't worry."

"W-well, if they'll come asking, I'll simply tell them that you stepped up to stop them." She assured him with a cute smile. "I-I'm Akemi, Akemi Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you…" Naruto simply cocked his eyebrow upwards after hearing this.

"Naruto." Akemi quickly realized with whom she was talking to, but didn't deter from a small smile. "Pardon the blunt question, but are you sure you are an Uzumaki? Last time I checked, the only Uzumaki were Kushina and Narumi, with me as unwelcomed addition. Though, your looks do make you look like quite an Uzumaki, so if anything, no offence if I'm mistaken."

"None taken, and yes, I am an Uzumaki, though not from your mother's branch of family. My father is from a separate branch of Uzumaki family, so you could say that we are distant cousins of sorts." She cleared up. "My parents aren't very public, not like yours, most people around here don't really ask him of his family name. Most people address me and my brother by our mother's second name, Azuma. She's Konoha's current chief medic, Aika Azuma, maybe you've heard of her?"

"We've met, multiple times, actually." Considering that she was actually the one that patched up his hands in his earliest days of training, Naruto was aware of Akemi's mom, and could see the resemblance. "You said you had a brother. Is he around or…"

"I am here, actually." This made Naruto and Akemi turn to face a young man with short silver hair and light blue eyes, dressed in grey vest with blue t-shirt underneath, black with light blue lining pants and sandals, who was walking to them. "Ake-chan, I'm sorry that I didn't get here faster. Iruka-sensei wanted me to drop the tests off in teacher's office. I hope you they didn't hurt you or…"

"No, no, I am fine, only shaken a bit. Naruto-san here has… Handled them." Akemi said, with her brother looking around.

"I'll say that you have quite a… direct way of handling these kinds of things, Naruto-san. Although, it does seem to have gotten the point to them." The man said to him with a smile, extending him a hand, surprising Naruto a bit. "You have my thanks for protecting my sister's dignity, Naruto-san. I'm Hiryu, Hiryu Azuma, or Uzumaki, whichever you prefer." Naruto looked at the extended hand with a small tingle of suspicion, before accepting it, though a bit of hesitation.

"No problem and simply Naruto will do." Hiryu nodded to him, as they released their hands. "I'm kinda surprised. Not a lot of people in this village are willing to say more than three words to me, and even less say nice things to me, not that I blame them…"

"Well, there aren't many persons that happen to save my little sister and not expect to win a favor or two from our parents. And if you don't mind, no honorifics on our regard, so we are all here feel equal." Hiryu said to him, looking at the young man, dressed in all black shirt and pants with boots. "They own a tailor shop, Azuma's Tailor Shop, the one monopolizing the whole tailoring for Shinobi and even Hokage, though it's dad that runs the place, while mom is working in hospital."

"Must be getting quite a lot of clients then." Naruto remarked in a seemingly uncaring manner, though not an impolite one. "Are you two students' here too?"

"Yes, final year, to be precise." Hiryu answered. "Pardon the question, Naruto, but I don't recall you being in our year. Were you held up in a year before or…"

"No, I was simply sent into Academy with the Kyuubi brats by Hokage and his wife, sorry about the language." Naruto said mostly to Akemi, who nodded. "I'm sure you heard what the deal with me is, and I doubt that your parents would want you hanging around the likes of me, so maybe you best be on your way home, before someone sees you with me."

"A-actually, would you like to come along with us? I-I mean, we don't mind your company a-and Mom and Dad wouldn't mind either. As a thank you for standing up to me." Akemi had a small blush on her cheeks and averted her eyes away from Naruto. "If you want, dad would probably g-give a discount on one of his garments, or you could have dinner with us…"

"I really don't think that it's a good idea." Naruto objected. "I best be going, plus I've got a Genin exam tomorrow."

"Well, I hope you don't mind that I also insist on you coming along, and you have nothing to fear. Mom and Dad are good judges of character. And, as it happens, Akemi and I'll also be taking an exam tomorrow, so what's the harm in coming along." Hiryu insisted, with Naruto, though clearly not as comfortable with the idea as Hiryu and Akemi, deciding to agree, allowing Hiryu and Akemi to lead the way. "So, it must be difficult, being the eldest in the entire group, with practically no one to speak with about things…"

"That's actually the least uncomfortable thing. Trying to find _anyone_ that isn't a stuck-up douche with a penchant for inferiority and superiority complex in this village- now that is really difficult for me." Naruto commented, as they moved along. "Though, to be fair, my reputation and… less than restrained temper do put a big dent on my chances to get along with anyone in here." Even though Naruto heard people whispering and talking behind his back, he decided to ignore for now, as he didn't want to get his new acquaintances into trouble.

"Actually, you kinda remind me of Dad. You have a few things in common with him." Akemi said with a smile to him. "He is usually a very nice person, but also has his moments from time to time. He says that Uzumaki blood is like liquid fire, waiting to just for a spark to ignite it. I guess I'm not very much of an Uzumaki in that regard, since, well… I guess I take more after my mother in that regard."

"In that case you've got nothing to be ashamed of. She is a nice person, the nicest one to be perfectly honest with you." Naruto looked up at his scarred back of the right hand for a few seconds, with Hiryu and Akemi noticing them as well. "Not a lot of people in here would simply heal you a broken palm and not look at you, like you are a piece of shit to them." Naruto said in a somewhat somber, deeper tone, with Hiryu speaking up.

"You do not have a lot friends, do you, Naruto?" He asked of him bluntly, with Naruto shaking his head.

"Nope, I don't. Don't think ever even had any to begin with…" Naruto admitted to them. "The closest thing to a friend I ever had was old Lord Third, but after _that day_ , I didn't really talk to him or anyone for that matter. You are actually the only people I've talked with for more than two minutes, or not got lectured, insulted, aggravated, or beaten by."

"I am sorry to hear that. You must be feeling terribly lonely, living like that… I can't even imagine how your parents even permit this." Akemi said with sympathy and sadness in her voice. "Can't Lord Hokage or Lady Kushina do anything about it?"

"They did, and here we are talking about it." Naruto responded with coldness, and not so hidden anger. "If you don't mind, I would appreciate if didn't talk about them, or their brats for that matter. I have… issues with them, to put it bluntly."

"Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't think this through..." Akemi apologized to him with a small bow, which Naruto shrugged off. "Though to be quite honest with you, Naruto, you are actually nicer than Menma and Narumi, and more… approachable, so to say."

"Those two things do not really apply to me all that much, especially the approachable part." Naruto argued.

"I'd disagree with you." Hiryu spoke up. "We had an unpleasant run in with them a couple of weeks back in our shop, when Lady Kushina came in for her dress. Let's just say, that unlike your brother and sister, you do not ogle perversely at Akemi and do not act like royalty. You are more down to earth."

"More like face in the dirt, but thanks." Naruto actually let out a small smile at this one, as they had finally came to the place, which looked like a large three story well-built building, with a sign of Azuma's Tailor Shop hanging above the door. "You live in here?"

"Yes, the first floor is used as a shop and workplace for Dad, with second and third floors being our home. Dad actually bought the entire place in one payment, as Mom had told us, and renovated it for our family. He used to be a Jonin Shinobi, but decided to retire after he and Mom got married. Said that he has had enough of it." Hiryu explained to Naruto, who nodded to him. "He and Lady Kushina were actually among the dozen kids that were sent from Uzushiogakure here as a part of the agreement between them and Konoha. Most of them didn't make it through the last Great Shinobi War, or left the Village afterwards, while he settled down here."

"I didn't even know there were ten other Uzumaki living here at some point… Books didn't mention anything about it." Naruto remarked.

"Yeah, modern books don't mention _a lot_ of things that really happened, believe me, kid." The trio immediately turned around when they heard a mature male voice speak up.

Before them stood a tall, lean, well-built man, in seemingly his late twenties or early thirties, dressed in a white suit with a black shirt underneath, white pants and black shoes. He looked a lot like Hiryu, though he had a more mature look, with long red hair behind his back made into a loose ponytail, resembling a mane of a lion, with two long bangs on each side of his face, bright blue eyes, with a little bit of green in them, and a short accurate beard on his chin.

He looked with a smile at Akemi and Hiryu, before eyeing up at Naruto, with Naruto almost feeling like a chill running along his spine. It was like he was staring at something really, _really_ dangerous. He has faced the KI from Shinobi and even his mother before, but this man… For the first time in his life, Naruto decided to watch his mouth. And then he spoke up.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure, Mr..." The man deliberately trailed off, despite _obviously_ knowing who Naruto was.

"Dad, this is Naruto. He is from the Academy, only he is in the first year." Akemi introduced him. "He… He helped me a-and I thought that I could invite him over, a-as gratitude…"

"Is that so, Akemi-chan? I wonder, what have a person like you, Naruto, have done for my daughter. Or should I say, _to_ my daughter?" Older Uzumaki narrowed his eyes upon Naruto, who despite not showing it, was actually starting to think about ways to escape.

"Dad, Ake-chan was assaulted again." And just as Hiryu had said, older Uzumaki's attention immediately went towards his son first, with a look fright and concern being next directed towards his daughter. "Naruto intervened and handled them before they did anything… degenerative of nature. They were of Inuzuka Clan again, though without dogs this time." Naruto could see how the man's features hardened up at the mention of the clan.

"Again with those mingy mutts… I'll have words with Tsume about that, and if she doesn't restraint them…" He suddenly stopped, blinking once, before turning to Naruto. "Oh, I am sorry about this, I hope I didn't offend you. You have quite the infamy in Konoha, Naruto, so I have assumed that you've done something with my little girl here. Again, my apologies."

"Don't worry, I get that far more than I would like, and I understand." Naruto sighed, while the older Uzumaki extended him his hand.

"We haven't been properly introduced, have we?" He smiles to Naruto with sincerity. "I am Shingen Uzumaki, but you can call me Shin." Naruto looked for a second at the now announced Shin and shook his hand.

* * *

 **Alright, hello dear readers. To those of you who may be asking, my name's Ronin, or you can call me Alex, which ever suits you best. A few months ago I have taken a** ** _long_** **leave to get my things back in order, with the new semester in full swing, plus family issues and other stuff. Well, to those that have been waiting on for me, the good news is that there is now more free time for me and I have decided to use it with this, a sort of fresh start for myself, to get my feet wet again in the great and mighty ocean of Fanfiction. I fear I may've lost a notch, so sorry if it happened. Also, thank you all so much for your support in last months, it meant a great deal to me and it almost makes me cry out of happiness.**

 **Now, about my other stories. As all of you had been requesting, as I am aware, the continuations of my stories will appear before the end of the month, hopefully, but do not hold your breath. I am sorry, but my graphic is still hectic at times, and there are still issues with my family not fully resolved so… yeah, real life can be quite a downer. And as for their updates, they will be irregular, I am sorry, as I hope to focus up on one major story for me for now, this one.**

 **Now, about this story. Yes, a neglect fic, but with a couple of my own touches, such as additional Uzumaki people in, as well as Naruto dealing with anger issues and inferiority complex. I hope to focus up a bit more on a character evolution, his growth and struggles in life. Also, yes I have purposefully made the character older again, and I do not apologize for that.**

 **About Naruto, while he may appear like an angry person, and he certainly is one, he is also broken inside and doesn't even have much of a goal in life. His closest people had all but drove him into what he is now, he was denied what was his by right and with everyone praising and celebrating his younger siblings, forgetting him, he is obviously angry, envious and jealous, as well as bitter at people. I'll be making his struggles to overcome his own demons one of points in story.**

 **Now, as for the new Uzumaki, they are a distant branch of the Uzumaki family, with Shingen being based off of Zeoticus Gremory, Akemi is based on looks on Rias Gremory, with two of them being from Highschool DxD, while persona is my idea, with Hiryu a based off Vergil from DMC and character of one of my previous work. This family will be also a central point of this story, along with Clan Uzumaki in general.**

 **Oh, and this time, no harem. Sorry, but pairing is still not decided, so suggestions?**

 **Please comment, review, PM, follow and favor it, as it helps me improve.**

 **Again, thank you all for reading it and all those that had supported me.**

 **See ya soo!**


	2. Chapter 2

"It's a pleasure, Shingen. I am Naruto." Naruto responded, though already knowing that Shingen knew of him, as they released hands of each other. "No offence, but I'm still surprised that I haven't heard about you. I mean, you are an Uzumaki, and Kushina with Narumi are as well, but…"

"None taken, and I would actually be more surprised if you've heard of us from your mother." Shingen and his kids immediately saw how Naruto stiffened up at the mention of Kushina. "I see that her name isn't liked by just me, hm?" Naruto immediately calmed down at hearing it.

"I-I'm sorry, I…"

"No need, kid. I know what you feel, believe me." Shingen simply smiled to him, confusing Naruto. "Now, let's get inside. I'm sure Aika should be done with the dinner by now. Come, I won't take no for an answer."

"I… I really don't want to impose, and…" Naruto was feeling uncomfortable at being invited by someone over and was about to go, but he was stopped when Hiryu put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, giving him a small, comforting smile.

"It's alright, Naruto. You've helped my sister, and that's enough of a reason for me… to call you friend." Naruto slightly widened his eyes, but calmed down. "Now, let's not keep Mom waiting." Hiryu and Akemi went on ahead, opening up the door inside, with Naruto and Shingen remaining for a second, before Shin gave a nudge in the back to Naruto, speaking up.

"If you are worried about ANBU or Konoha Police coming your way for what you have done, you can calm down. I may not look like much, but not even current Hokage or his Advisors have it in them to go against a decision that I've made." Shingen smiled to him, opening up the door and letting Naruto inside.

Inside, Naruto saw what he had expected to see within the tailor shop: manikins with various garments of all kinds, rows of textile and various kinds of silk, material and more. It was a spacious place, with a waiting area, a stand for shopkeeper, books with numerous models of garments, utilities for measuring. The interior was made in a modern, yet slightly moderate style, creating an atmosphere of warmth and welcoming comfort. Overall, Naruto had to admit that it was a plain, simple, yet elegant in its own way tailor shop, though he was ready to be that there was more to it, especially with the earlier statement of Shingen. As the two have entered, Naruto did not wait to ask a question.

"You speak with some confidence, but why would the Uchihas and ANBU Black Ops fear a plain and simple tailor, if you don't mind me asking?" Naruto turned to Shingen, who simply chuckled. "They don't fear to press up any Civilian that steps out of line, especially the Uchihas with their angered up vigorousness. What would make them reconsider their policy with you?"

"Maybe because I am _a very good_ tailor, who also happens to have a little hobby on the side?" Shingen suggested in a somewhat amused manner, with Naruto cocking up an eyebrow. "A lot of Shinobi may not have much in terms of love towards the civilian sector, but even they have to understand that said sector here is essential for the survival of Konoha, as it supplies the most basic needs to them: provisions, medicines, all kinds of materials and services, you name it. And all of this is something that I take an interest in, the civilian economical sector."

"You are what, a head of the commerce union?" Naruto asked, with Shingen shaking his head.

"No, not quite. Aside from being a professional tailor and former Shinobi of Konoha, I am also one of main investors in Konoha, with my money being invested in practically every essential and non-essential economical part of this village, and beyond it as well." Naruto looked a little bit surprised. "Akimichi may be good chefs, but are terrible farmers, so they have to be supplied with meat, wheat and everything in between. Same as with everyone else: Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Nara, Hyuga, etc. I believe you know how investment works as a business."

"It's the principal of the banking system: loaning money to someone and extracting a percentage of his profits in exchange." Shingen nodded to Naruto. "If you are an investor and one that can dictate rules to Hokage, why bother with a simple tailor shop?"

"Because this is something I rather enjoy doing, and I am quite good at it as well, with practically no competition in here, so I have a job security. Plus, who could possibly believe that the richest man in Konoha and one of the wealthiest persons in all of Elemental Nations is a simple professional tailor with a Shinobi past?" Shingen asked of Naruto, who simply shook his head. "Not every investor makes himself known as one, and usually takes up an additional profession as well. I know one investor from the Land of Stone, who is also a very popular writer, with his detectives being quite the bestsellers. Although his romance series didn't go far from that perverted frog fetishist's… voyeur escapades."

"You are… not what I had expected." Naruto simply stated to Shingen, who led him through the waiting area, into the working area and from there to the ladder to living place his living place.

"I get that sometimes." Shingen stepped aside, letting Naruto inside of his house. "Please, make yourself comfortable.

The second floor looked like the example of a modern living house, with a living room on Naruto's left, with sofa, three armchairs, bookcase filled with books, some paintings and photos of family, tables and more. The entire room taking up about half of the spacious floor, with, what Naruto had guessed, kitchen being located on his right, and further ahead on the right were the bathroom and, maybe, a library or a personal cabinet behind the closed door. The entire floor looked warm and felt comforting, with warming beige and sunny colors, well illuminated by windows and lights. All was made to look and feel like a comfortable house, with a caring and nice people living in.

As Shingen went ahead into kitchen, Naruto went into the living room, taking a seat on the comfy sofa, feeling… not very comfortable, to be perfectly honest with himself. It was quite a long time since he was welcomed in by someone and allowed to in just like that. He may've protected Akemi from the Inuzuka idiots, but, in his mind, it wasn't something that should've allowed him to get in here, even out of gratitude. A simple "thanks" should've been enough for someone like him, but instead, he was allowed in. Was there some kind of plot in play here? Or was Hiryu with his family simply that kind to him. If this was true, then this would honestly be the first time for Naruto, encountering such kindness.

Though sofa was comfortable, Naruto wasn't feeling too good sitting on it, so he rose up and began looking around the room, particularly at the photos. There were a lot of photos of Hiryu and Akemi with their parents, from practically all ages, starting up with infancy, followed by when they were little kids, kindergarten and going into the Academy years. There were smiles, happiness on their faces and genuine content with life, with Hiryu laughing and smiling all the way, with Akemi's beautiful eyes displaying happiness with a small cute smile, or how she blushes up because of being embarrassed of her looks. Then there are happily grinning Shingen with his happy and caring wife Aika, a tall, beautiful woman with light blue eyes and long silver hair, possessing quite an appealing figure, rivaling that of Tsunade and even surpassing it in proportional beauty. It was no secret that many Shinobi and civilians alike considered her to be one of the most beautiful women in Konoha, an object of envy and jealousy of fairer sex and a wet dream of many men.

As Naruto went on looking through them all, he felt how his heart inside of him sank deeper and deeper. All of these images of happy family, caring parents and siblings… It made him feel hollow inside. This was something that he didn't expect to feel, not any time soon or anywhere like this, a feeling that he has been pushing away inside of him and burying it down under rage and fury, as well as countless and restless training.

Loneliness.

Naruto felt lonely, abandoned and empty, with the feeling of sadness settling in. All of this that he was seeing… How much he wished that it could've been him and his parents there. To be able to experience all of this and more, to spend time like this without a care in the world. To hear his mother's laughter and father's chuckle at something funny, or feel the warm embrace of them and the intoxicating feeling of content and safety. To even run around and have fun with his siblings, laughing and playing at the streets or in the house. To be a part of happy family once more…

All of this and more was all that Naruto had wanted to have, yet no longer can, nor had it in him. Happiness at the sight of his parents was replaced burning fury of a wronged son, tender and warm feelings for his siblings were now sharp and cold. They've made it clear to him in their actions that he was no longer someone they care about, with all their thoughts and attention diverted towards the twins. In their house, there were only three photos in which Naruto was depicted, and even those showed him on the sidelines and not smiling. The family album held 79 photos of twins, with and without their parents, while Naruto only had 14 dedicated to him, with 8 being the same as with those in the house. He had not known the feeling of happiness, when his parents looked at him with pride, but the bitter taste of disappointment and misery.

At this moment Naruto could clearly feel a strong sense of envy and even jealousy towards Hiryu and Akemi, but even more vividly, he could feel sadness and sorrow, with a crack having formed in his cold exterior. A small crack on his armor that he had built around himself. One that showed itself in the form of a single lone tear falling down on his face, with Naruto not even noticing it. He was so transfixed upon the photos that he did not even notice a certain housewife stepping into the living room and noticing Naruto's look of sadness.

"Naruto…" In one second, the armor regained its integrity, as he quickly turned to face the source of a sweet and caring voice of Aika Azuma, standing in front of him in a lightly blue sweater, black pants and plain slippers, with a white apron above her attire. "I haven't seen you in quite a while. I hope you are doing well?"

"As well as considered of me." Naruto answered in his usual manner, noticing a slightly perplexed and concerned look on Aika's face. "I am sorry for being a bother. If you want, I can..."

"Now why would I want you out, young man?" Aika asked of him in a somewhat insulted tone. "You have protected my sweet Akemi's honor and dignity from those assailants, from what Akemi and Hiryu told me. The least I can do for this is thank you accordingly. The meals are being served as we speak by Akemi. Please, wash your hands in the bathroom in the room after kitchen and join in."

"Um, sure." Naruto said hesitantly. "I'll… I'll be in a bit." He began to move towards the bathroom, when Aika called him out.

"Naruto." She drew his attention to herself. "Is everything alright? It may not be my place to pry, but… You look sorrowful and sad." Only now Naruto noticed a lone teardrop on his cheek, which he wiped out, before replying quickly.

"I'm fine, just… Not feeling too comfortable in here, but not because of you. It's just…" Words died down in his throat, before he decided simply not to answer on this one. "I'll be joining you in a minute." And with that, he left for the bathroom, while Aika trailed him with a concerned and saddened look, understanding what was going on with her former patient.

She could only guess and theorize, but a mother's heart told her that years and loneliness have not been kind to Naruto. Quite the opposite, as even without a doujutsu like Sharingan or Byakugan, Aika could clearly see a tormented soul, wrapped in a constant pain of loneliness, humiliation and abandonment. She and her husband may've been a little bit private, but that didn't mean that they were aloof to what was happening in Konoha.

The events of 6th Kyuubi Festival day were known to her well, as well as the consequences of it, such as disinheritance of Naruto from Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans, along with his reaction and reaction of his parents to it. To be so openly forgotten and abandoned by your own parents, and then ostracized and humiliated by the near entirety of the village because of what his parents decided… It was no wonder that Naruto was feeling so out of place in her house or confused and perplexed with this kindness and gratitude. When one goes long enough without something important, they start to learn how to live without it, and when it comes back to them, it feels so out of place for them, yet may also be something of yearn to them.

Aika may've not known Naruto well, but she hopped that she and Shingen could help the poor boy.

After Naruto returned from the bathroom, the table was set and he joined in, being seated next to Hiryu, with Akemi facing him. He was greeted warmly by Shingen and Aika, who placed the utensils and dishes on the table, with food following it. It wasn't anything of great extravagance, but a tasty looking food, traditional to Konoha people. As he sat, he decided to eat without even saying a word, getting on it just as he was used to.

Naruto had to admit, that the food was not just good, but delicious, much better than what he was used to cooking up for himself. It made his mouth salivate and awakened a gluttonous hunger for it, as he had practically have forgotten how tasty food can be. He was practically eating it without any care, until a careful cough by Shingen hadn't broken him out of his state and made him look at his surroundings. Akemi and Hiryu were looking at him with a perplexed gazes, while Aika was looking surprised and somewhat… revolted even, while Shingen managed to maintain a more simple and normal look upon him, as he spoke up to Naruto.

"Kid, no need to go stuffing all the food in your mouth like that. We aren't going to take it away from you or anything." Shingen and the rest of his family saw how Naruto chew on his food and gulped it down, before sitting straight, looking ashamed of his actions.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect or try to be a brute, I…" Naruto was starting to panic a little, before Akemi chuckled a little to him and spoke up.

"Naruto, it is alright, just… Try to eat slowly and taste the food properly, okay? It's just… You look kinda silly when you… Stuff your face." Akemi blushed up a little bit when she said it. "I-I mean that if that's how you… I didn't mean to make fun of you, I…"

"No, no… I understand. And I'm sorry. I'll be more… proper with food." Naruto calmed down, as did Akemi, starting to eat his food slower and tasting it, with everyone else returning back to it, until the family began to talk.

"So Hiryu, are you and Akemi going to take the Exam tomorrow? Did Iruka give you any trouble for getting a head start before the rest of your class?" Aika asked of her son, while Naruto stiffened up, as he felt himself again out of place and even uncomfortably. "I remember him mentioning that he doesn't like his students start out sooner than expected. Says that they should enjoy and appreciate this time of their life to the fullest, instead of cutting it short. To be quite honest, I somewhat agree with him."

"Maybe today that's how the things are, but back in our day… I remember more students graduating on their first and second years than actually going through full course." Shingen recalled, with Aika nodding to it a little. "Although, those were uneasy years and every village needed able Shinobi like air, since war was brewing up. Granted though, the quality of training Shinobi was on completely different level as well back then, nothing like today's kindergarten with all this prattling about Hokage being all great, _especially_ with Minato's so called miracle…" Naruto could clearly hear a tone of disagreement and even anger in Shingen's voice.

"Iruka-sensei did try to talks me and brother out of this, along with Rei and Keiji, saying that we are not ready for this yet." Akemi spoke up, with Shingen shaking his head at this one. "Rei and Keiji didn't really listen to him, though, and left, with Keiji saying that he and his sister are tired of listening to the same thing over and over. T-to be quite honest, I kinda agree with him."

"Yeah, Iruka and Mizuki do tell the same thing over and over again to us on history, like there isn't something better to teach us." Hiryu agreed with them. "Although Iruka-sensei is a pretty great teacher, but Mizuki-sensei… I quite honestly can't even stand the guy, something about him just… I don't know, sit well with me. Like he puts up this nice guy front, but behind it is some kind of villain from TV shows."

"I've seen more than enough of these kinds of people, and I can tell that Mizuki is definitely not very fit to be a teacher. A shame that there are practically no experienced Jonins in the Academy nowadays." Aika sighed, before noticing how Naruto was looking very stiff and uncomfortable. "Naruto, is something the matter? Did you not like the food?" Shaking off the stasis, Naruto looks up at Aika and speaks up.

"No, no, the food is great, really. It's the best stuff I've eaten in ages, actually. Don't think I've even eaten anything better before." Naruto truthfully said, with Aika smiling at the compliment, though she and Shingen were already thinking over his statement. "I'm just… I'm not used to this kind of a mealtime, with all this talking and discussions… or company for that matter."

"Um, you don't have mealtimes with your parents?" Akemi asked the innocent question, with Naruto simply shaking his head. "But, how do you eat? Does your mom cook enough food and you eat it separately, and why do you not eat with them at all, if you don't mind me asking?"

"At first, when I was little, I did eat with them, but after they had started training the twins to control Kyuubi and other stuff… Mealtimes gotten mostly dominated by Menma and Narumi rambling on and on about what they had learned or were going learn, or how they spend their time with friends, especially in front of Jiraiya and Tsunade." Naruto spoke up with a bit cold voice, with Aika and Shingen exchanging glances with each other. "They were the centers of the attention, while I simply sat and ate, with Kushina and Minato and others not really asking me about anything, and if they did, it would mostly be where I was and what I did. I would say I was mostly out in village, which is true, but when they would try to press further, either Menma would ask for a refill, or Narumi would recall something really cool she heard or saw and tell about it…"

"It must've been really uncomfortable and awkward, sitting through it all, like you don't even exist to the others." Hiryu said with a tone of sympathy and sadness, with Naruto nodding to it. "But, it surely wasn't all that bad as it seemed, right? I mean, our Mom and Dad would never stand for me or Akemi interrupting one another like this or overshadowing each other."

"I don't really know about your parents, Hiryu, but with mine… Minato was always busy with work as Hokage, and would more often than naught talk about it at table, while Kushina would be prattling about how Menma and Narumi are doing so great under her "awesome" teaching skills and all…" Naruto let out a frustrated sigh, taking a moment to calm down. "At some point, the ignorance was starting to become too much, and I've started to first skip meals, and later have them in different times or out of house. Even learned how to cook it up myself, though never really good, but it was something."

"Didn't they ever notice that you weren't at the table? They couldn't have just… not noticed it at all, could they?" Aika asked of Naruto, fearing the already expected answer from him.

"They did, at first, and asked why I've started skipping meals. I told them that I had stuff to take care, and they lay off of me, and after… After _the day_ ," Everyone in the room understood what Naruto was referring to. "They didn't really bother with it, with Kushina now cooking enough for four people, instead of five. As you can imagine, I'm not exactly in the best relations with either the brats, or Hokage and his wife. _Especially_ with his wife, thanks to…" Naruto rubbed his slapped cheek, as if recalling the pain. "Me not being good enough to being _her_ heir, like those two…" The last bit was said with a great deal of bitterness and anger in it, which did not go unnoticed by anyone.

Aika and Shingen exchanged glances, silently communicating between themselves about this entire ordeal. They had heard all about how Kushina had stated that Menma and Narumi were better than Naruto back at his birthday, since she didn't bother with lowering her voice at all. The very notion of one sibling's superiority over the other was absolutely repulsive for Aika, especially as a mother, who would not even think about judging her children based upon some ridiculous standards that Kushina had set for her children. She knew that Hiryu and Akemi weren't perfect in all and had their own weak and strong sides, and she loved and cherished them for it all equally.

As for Shingen, hearing about being better and not good enough, had a reminding effect. Just as he sat there and looked at Naruto, he couldn't help but see another redheaded boy with blue eyes from a different time, who was told he was not good enough for the honor of being Kyuubi's vessel. The anger, rage, envy, bitterness and so much that he felt back then. All of it had made him push himself past any and all limits that he may've had, accepting loneliness as his companion. And when he had thought that he was now better than before, that boy, now older, was once again passed over for his teammate for the honor of becoming a personal student of Jiraiya in Sage Arts, again, because he wasn't up to that man's standards… Shingen remembered it all well, and how much it had hurt him, driving him into rage, with only Aika having been able to save him from himself and ultimately learning the real values of life are not in being the best in others eyes, but in being the better person for yourself and for those you care for.

If only he had understood that when Mito Uzumaki had tried to explain it to him, if only Shingen wasn't so angry at everyone… If there ever was one thing that Shingen Uzumaki had learned in his life, then it would that unchecked and unbridled fury will only lead a person to loneliness and suffering. Now, Shin was looking at Naruto and seeing a very familiar image of himself in the boy. He was sure that Aika also saw it as well, and they both understood one thing: the boy needs help, and he needs it fast.

Just as if Shingen and Aika had come to the same conclusion, everyone in the room heard a loud sound of thunder, right outside of the house. Drawing everyone's attention to the window, they saw that a large rainfall was now pouring over Konoha, with wind blowing and howling with such power, that it seemed like it could blow away building and trees. Shingen stood and went to close up the windows before it started pouring inside the house.

"Looks like this thunderstorm will be raging for the rest of the evening, and entire night…" Shingen noted out as he looked out a practically blackened Konoha, before turning to Naruto. "Looks like you won't be getting home today, kiddo. Hiryu, could you show Naruto one of the guest rooms? And could you get some of clothes for him to change into? You two have about the same sizes."

"Sure thing, Dad." Hiryu agreed without hesitations, while Naruto wasn't as convinced.

"Th-there is no need for that. I-I'll just head back home and…" Naruto tried to speak up against such an idea, but wasn't allowed when Shingen spoke up again.

"Kid, look right out there and ask yourself: "do I feel lucky, going out into that thunderstorm?" Shingen pointed with his thumb to a window behind him, where the rainfall was starting to pick up. "I've lived in Uzu and I know a thunderstorm when I see one. The best thing you can do, kid, is stay here until it settles down for good. And from the looks of things, it'll probably be only over in the morning. The building itself is protected with seals of Uzumaki stamp of approval, so it won't make a dent on our house here, but if you take a step outside… Shinobi or not, there some times when you best not test your luck with Mother Nature, and that's just the time."

"And if you think that we would simply allow you to go out into that hurricane like this, you are sorely mistaken, young man." Aika added to Shingen's argument, before stepping closer with a warming smile. "Naruto, it's alright. We have enough spare rooms to spare, and we aren't taking no for an answer. As a mother, a compassionate person, and most importantly, a doctor, I _highly_ recommend that you stay here." Aika spoke with an absolutely serious tone of voice.

"Trust me, Hiryu. When Mom gets like that, there is no stopping her, and you don't want hear her start making demands." Hiryu spoke up to his friend, who sighed and spoke up.

"Alright… I just don't want to impose, plus… I'm also taking the Exam tomorrow." Naruto informed them all, with Hiryu and Akemi exchanging glances with each other, before smiling to him.

"Then that mean that we can take them together tomorrow." Akemi responded to that. "I've no doubt that we'll all succeed."

"I would be more surprised if all three of you didn't pass tomorrow." Shingen chuckled at this one. "Hiryu, why don't you show our guest the room and give him the cloths. Akemi, would you mind closing down the shop below?" His kids nodded to him and went ahead with their tasks, with Naruto following Hiryu upstairs, while Akemi took the keys and went downstairs, leaving their parents alone in the kitchen, with Aika already picking up the dishes and preparing to wash them, as she spoke up in a concerned tone of voice.

"It's even worse than I had thought." She said in a saddened and pained tone, with Shingen turning his attention to his wife. "Did you notice how tense and uncomfortable Naruto was? It's like he was expecting something bad to happen to him. And the way he ate and the fact that it's the first time in a long while since he ate homemade food like this, among family… Just what have Kushina and Minato done to the boy?!" Aika practically broke the dish when she said it like that.

"Yeah, you said, Aika." Shingen's voice became deeper and more sombre as well. "I saw the scarred skin on his knuckles and fingers, and all this talk about being not good enough, and his eyes…" Shingen let out a sigh, as he looked at his own reflection in the window. "Those were the same eyes I used to have back then… A boy, neglected in favour of one who has more promise, who answers some personal requirements and is simply thought to be a better of someone… I know it was far different for me than it is for him, but for Naruto it is even worse. Damn it, Minato, you are just like that frogged bastard."

"Shingen, Naruto can't continue down on that road." Aika turned to her husband with a serious look on her face. "The more villagers and his family continue to antagonize him, the worse it will be for him. All of that anger and rage for what had happened to him… it will kill him eventually. But behind all that anger and rage there is still a good and kind hearted person, one that simply yearns for acceptance, for friendship and family. When I walked in on him in the guestroom, he was on the verge of crying when he looked at the pictures of us and kids. I know that it isn't our place, but I can't simply stand idle and let a good soul get crushed under all of this..."

"Then that makes the two of us, Aika." Shingen agreed with her. "Although, I have been hearing about the kid all the time and it doesn't seem like the civilian populace holds any resentment towards him. If anything, more than a few pities the boy, but there aren't many that are willing to help him out openly, since none of them want to get on the bad side with Shinobi Clans. And those have grown quite a lot more arrogant and self-assured in their absolute authority in here, not to mention the brewing situation with Uchihas."

"And what about us then?" Aika asked of her husband, who looked up to her with a smile. "Are we going to be like the others, or is my husband, the Crimson Devil of Konoha, going to do things his own way, just as he has always done?" Aika asked of Shingen who simply smiled to her.

"You know how I hate it when you dare me, Aika…" Shingen laughed a little bit.

"I only do so, because I know that you could never turn down dare." Aika smiled to him in answer. "After all, wasn't this how I got you to finally say the "L" word?"

"Touché." Shingen chuckled at the memory. "It's not going to be easy for Naruto, and we'll have to be patient. Hiryu and Akemi will want to help no doubt, and as for Minato and Kushina, if they…" Shingen and Aika weren't able to continue their conversation, as they heard their daughter stepping onto the floor and coming into the kitchen

"Dad, I'm sorry, but there is Lord Hokage downstairs. He has come for Naruto, and it seemed to me like he wasn't taking him home." Akemi told her father and mother, with Shingen frowning at the fact that there was an uninvited guest downstairs. "I-I tried to tell him that he simply defended me, but he said th-that either we give him willingly, or he'll come up here and take him himself…"

"Wow, he makes us sound like we've captured Naruto or something. Looks like my old friend had forgotten what manners are since he became a Hokage." Shingen went towards the stairs to greet his former teammate. "I'll take care of this, Akemi. You go ahead and rest up. I'll be back in a minute or two." With this said, Shingen went downstairs.

It took him less than minute to get downstairs and enter the shop from behind his stand. Once he did that, Shingen could clearly see the current Forth Hokage, the legendary Yellow Flash of Konoha and the most famous student of Sannin Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze. The blond Hokage met Shingen with a cold stare, which did not deter Shingen in the slightest, even amusing him to a certain extent. To him it simply meant that Minato hadn't forgotten of their past and still hasn't let go of it, unlike Shingen.

It wasn't a particular secret that when Third Hokage was planning to retire, there were several pretenders for this post, with Minato and Orochimaru being the main ones, but there was also Shingen Uzumaki, Minato's former teammate and another one of Konoha's finest defenders. While late Danzo Shimura had supported Orochimaru, Minato was highly revered and supported by Shinobi Council and Shinobi population, and Shingen had the support of the civilian Clans and the general population of the village, as well as the favour of Fire Daimyo on his side.

Unfortunately for Shingen and Orochimaru, Shinobi Council pressured on Third Hokage to have Minato succeed him, wanting to get more influence over things in Konoha, and knowing that between sadistic and manipulating Orochimaru, seasoned and mature Shingen Uzumaki, and young and idealistic Minato, it would be the easiest to take control over the latter. And so Minato was elected as the Forth Hokage, while Shingen had left the Shinobi Corp behind, becoming something of an unofficial leader and defender of civilian populace's rights in Konoha's politics.

It was a well-known fact that many of the Shinobi didn't like or outright despised Shingen Uzumaki, calling him a traitor to Shinobi. Minato himself have admitted that he was not expecting Shingen to become his opponent and opposition to him in Konoha like that, stating that he had hoped that they could've worked for the betterment of Konoha. Shingen simply stated that he was loyal not simply to Konoha, as all the other Shinobi, but to all the people that lived in it, as was befitting to an Uzumaki of Uzu, to be a loyal defender of all those that resided in his village.

The two were vastly different in their ideals and viewing of the world, as well as their core values, yet both could've been called the most loyal men to Konoha's people. But where Minato had viewed Konoha as completely Shinobi-oriented village and civilian population as simple addition to it, Shingen saw the importance of both Shinobi and civilians, seeing Konoha as a home for them all and not just Shinobi. In his eyes, it was now bigger and more than what First Hokage had envisioned for the Hidden Village, along with the Will of Fire, something that he disagreed with completely. Perhaps it was an Uzumaki blood in Shingen with the Will of Unity, the core concept for all Uzumaki and their code of living. While similar in their concepts, with Uzumaki's Will of Unity predating the Will of Fire, there were fundamental differences between them as well.

The same differences that have made Minato and Shingen, once teammates and comrades, into rivals in their views and codes of conduct.

Shingen looked at Minato, noticing that he wasn't even wet from the storm going on outside, meaning that he used his favourite Hiraishin to get here. Shingen knew he should've removed that marker years ago…

"You know, it's usually considered impolite to enter into someone's house without the usage of the front door." Shingen decided to jape a little, as he closed the distance between him and Minato. "Plus walking is always good for your feet, providing exercising and ridding off all the excess mass. Although looking at you, you could use a little on you, but with Kushina's cooking skills…"

"Shingen, cut the chatter." Minato sharply said to him, with Shingen shutting up. "You and I both do not exactly enjoy each other's company, so let's keep it brief. Where is Naruto?" Minato asked the question.

"Why, he is upstairs, probably getting ready for a sleep in the guest room. It's not like the weather there is good for strolls." Shingen replied like it was something completely normal, getting a surprised reaction from Minato. "You didn't think that Aika and I would throw him out into that storm, now did you?"

"It's not needed of you, to give him a room and bed. I'm taking him with me." Minato was about to go towards the stairs, but was stopped by Shingen, who wasn't looking like he would allow Minato to pass. "Shingen, let me pass and we will be off."

"How about you be off to either home or work, and let the boy rest after a good family meal? Something he definitely needed in a _long_ time." Shingen suggested to Minato, who glared at his former friend. "You know, if you had more of those normal meals with him, like a _normal_ family, there wouldn't be such a great need to send him to the ANBU cell for a week, like you are about to do, aren't you?"

"Tsume had reported that he had assaulted four of her clansmen and crippled two of them. I will not let this simply slide like nothing had happened, son or no son of mine, so don't try to stand in my way, or I'll charge you with cooperating with a criminal." Minato threatened, with an irate voice and tone, something that Shingen did not take lightly.

"I would be careful, threatening me like that in my own house, Minato. And as for those four Inuzuka degenerates, has Tsume or those bastard forget to mention that they have assaulted my daughter and even tried to have, oh what's she called it… Oh yes: "preliminary exams" for taking Genin Exam tomorrow." Shingen released a little bit of his KI at Minato, making the blond flinch at it. "You know, I'm usually a pretty chill person these days, but if there's one thing I can't stand, then it's when someone assaults my family and thinks they can get away with it with their skin intact. Good thing they didn't though, thanks to Naruto."

"If you think that I'll believe, that four Genins have assaulted…" Minato wasn't allowed to speak more, as Shingen interrupted.

"If you were half the Hokage everyone here thinks you are, you would've long known that first: it's not your son that goes on picking all the fights, but every Shinobi Clan who is arrogant enough to do that, thanks to you. And second, in case you haven't heard or noticed, the civilian population has been getting harassed by Shinobi from practically all ranks more and more frequently over all kinds of things, and the nature of this harassment is getting worse." Shingen said with steel cold resolve. "So, instead of serving as an ass wiper for Tsume and training those golden assed twins of yours, you go back in your office and address these damn issues, before I decide to take action into my own hands." Minato knew full well, that with the tone like that, Shingen was not kidding.

"You do not have the right for that. You are not the Hokage." Minato reminded him. "And as for the rumours, I have been assured by my advisors that those were just baseless rumours."

"I wouldn't call seeing my friends mugged by Shinobi, charging them with so called: "protection fee". Or how about the fact that Clans are demanding higher prices on all of their products, while not even paying up the full price for the delivered items and products from civilians?" Shingen addressed just some of the most prominent problems. "And how about the fact that since you and your wise Council have basically exiled Uchiha Clan on the outskirts of village, they've been taking out their anger and frustration on the civilians of Konoha, with their raids on merchants, baseless arrests and even beatings and tortures for confessions in the most meagre of crimes. And don't deny that you didn't know about it, Minato. We both know that you know."

"That still doesn't make you a Hokage, Shingen." Minato reminded him again.

"No, it doesn't, but it seems like I'll have to do the Hokage's job for you. And you know that I am not one to mince words or be bent over every time the Shinobi Council wants to have their own way." Shingen stated with strength, one that Yellow Flash had remembered was in the Crimson Devil. "So unless you want me to… disrupt the natural order of things around, you'll leave Naruto alone and instead, start doing the job you were put in charge of doing. And, while you are at it, maybe take a few minutes to address the constant harassment of your son. That is, _if_ you even care about him." Shingen showed with his posture that he was done talking and already headed back. "Close the door from outside, if you don't mind."

"I've heard that Hiryu and Akemi will be taking their Exam tomorrow, alongside with Naruto and Uchiha orphans…" Minato seemingly said out of nowhere, making Shingen stop in his tracks. "We are a little short on the capable Jonins right now, but I think we'll be able to spare our best one for them, along with someone from the Special Jonins, seems it looks like we'll be having a 5-man Squad formed from them. Just though that you wanted to know." With that, Minato teleported out of the shop, with Shingen scowling at this one.

"If he meant the one I'm thinking about, then it's probably a good thing I was already planning on offering Naruto, Rei and Keiji to train them…" Shingen said to himself, already setting up a training plan for the future Genin Squad.

* * *

 **Okay, looks like I've overestimated myself, and I am sorry to say it, but there will only be one update for my other Naruto stories on this week, as I'm pretty beat at the moment. I'm sorry about it, but I do plan on updating them and continuing this story.**

 **Now about this chapter, not my best, but I hope it did go well. While Naruto may be angry and furious, he is still vulnerable and does feel lonely and yearns for attention. However, because of how he is treated and how long he has been essentially alone, he isn't comfortable around the people like this and so his awkwardness. As you can see, this Uzumaki family will be playing a big role in the future, as will the mentioned Uchiha orphans, Rei and Keiji. I plan on making a 5-members Genin Squad, like I did in Shadow Sage of Six Paths, my first Naruto story. Aika Azuma is largely based off Rosseweisse from DxD, one of my favourite characters in it.**

 **Shingen may be a very good tailor, and a professional one at that, but he is powerful person within Konoha, with connections, influence and money, as well as being the only Shinobi at the time to have rivalled the Yellow Flash of Konoha in skill and power. Also, yes, Danzo is dead, but his ROOT lives on, but in a different role and form, which will be revealed later on. And the civilians, who are often portrayed as those arrogant douches here will be showcased in a bit more positive way.  
**

 **Now, while Naruto is largely the main protagonist, I would also like to hear your opinion on whom should Hiryu be paired up with.**

 **Comment, review, suggest, question, I'll answer it all.**

 **See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto opened up his eyes, with some grogginess in his muscles and all over his body, as if it wasn't really ready or willing to leave the warm and nice bed. Wasn't the first time that he had this feeling, but it was a really long time since he had experienced it, as he was very much used to waking up just before the sunrise. Having lived with his family, as much as he had loathed that word nowadays, he had learned that none of them could stomach to get up before at least 6.30, and so Naruto took to liking waking up before that, at 5 AM at latest.

It had quite a few advantages for him: longer day, more time to get things done, enough time to eat, clean up and not get spotted by his family. Wasn't all that easy to adjust at first to this, but it did get normal for Naruto after a week and a half. Plus, apparently his organism didn't need all that much time for rest, being probably in the same category as his increased endurance and strength. Not that he had ever complained for that, if anything, it had served him a good service throughout the time and continued to do so.

However, this time was different, as Naruto had slept in different house, in guest room, which looked a lot like a comfortable, not too big personal room of a person should look like. Desk, wardrobe, bookshelf, enough space for moving and a bathroom, quite like his own room in the residence, but this one felt differently. It felt… warm, comforting and comfortable in here, while his own felt empty and hollow, and was only used to rest. Here… Here Naruto felt like he could relax and let his guard and posture drop. Maybe it was because of all the positivity with the Uzumaki here. He has heard that caring and loving family makes any home welcoming, but he did not really believe it to be true. Apparently, he might have to reconsider his opinion on that.

Dressing and cleaning himself up, Naruto looked at the clock, stating that it 25 minutes before 5 AM., which wasn't something surprising for him. Carefully, trying not to make any noise and wake anyone up, Naruto made it downstairs and saw the door, leading into the backyard. From the window and from the sounds, Naruto saw that the storm had passed and it was a clear pre-dawn sky, already starting to light up.

Stepping outside, young redhead was a bit surprised to see that the entire yard was dry and clean, as if it wasn't affected by the rainfall. Dismissing it as a possible barrier Ninjutsu, Naruto walked through the yard, seeing several practice dummies and training equipment here. Seeing that this was the place where the family trained and honed up their skills, Naruto decided that the best way to kill time would be to get some practice while he had the opportunity. Taking his stance at the training manlike wooden dummy, made to both practice strikes and blocks, Naruto went on ahead at it, going into semi-trance, as his hands and arms went on ahead at it at an instinct level.

Naruto worked fast, not letting himself get caught up in any thoughts, letting his limbs move freely with his own style. Over the years and fighting, Naruto had developed three styles, to be exact, each centered around a certain idea or direction of a battle. With Aikido and Wing Chun, Naruto was able to create a universal quick defensive style, centered on quick counters and blocks. Hapkido and Wing Chun were similar to the first, but were a more universal style for either good offence or defense, meaning to grab on opponent and disable him in rapid motion. And with Krav Maga and Aikido, it was a style meant to cripple, incapacitate and kill his enemies quickly. This allowed for Naruto to have a good degree of versatility and effective means for every situation.

After what Naruto considered about half an hour of training, his right arm blocked the coming left limb of manikin, before finishing him off with his quick and powerful punch to the chest, knocking the dummy into the ground. Out of his stance and trance, Naruto could see that he had done quite a bit on the thing, as there were now numerous pumps on it and even broken pieces near it. He must've been pushing more and more strength into his strikes and counters without even knowing it, like he usually did. He would have to apologize to Shingen and Aika for this and find out if he could…

"That dummy is made of special kind of oak, found in Land of Iron, and is famous for its sturdiness." Naruto turned his head to see Shingen, stepping out of the house, dressed in plain sleeveless jacket, baggy black pants and boots, and holding in his arms, what appeared to be, two big swords. "I usually use it myself to get some workout for my punches, but you appear to have finally pushed it beyond set limits of durability."

"I-I apologize. I will…" Naruto was starting to panic a little bit, before he heard Shingen chuckling. "Wait, you are not mad at me for this? Or that I've apparently woke you up?"

"Not at all. The old thing was already at its final days and I was thinking about replacing it, so it's okay. And no, you didn't really wake me up." Shingen simply stated to him, stepping closer to Naruto, looking carefully at him. "Well, I'll have to say that I didn't think I would see another Uzumaki with my kind of bloodline." Naruto cocked his eyebrow up at this one, with Shingen promptly continuing on. "You already know that we Uzumaki have a much stronger body and organism than that of a usual Shinobi, giving us larger reserves of chakra and longer lifespan. It is a common thing among Uzumaki, but among us, there are those with special variations of this bloodline. One such variant are the Chakra Chains, like with Kushina, the other is an extremely potent sensor ability, which, when trained, can allow a person to literally sense and predict any enemy's movement, like with Byakugan, only even better. And then there are people like you and me, Naruto."

"What do you mean by that, Shingen?" Naruto asked of him. "I just know that every time I get beaten up, or really tired and weakened, I simply get stronger and better once I heal up. Isn't that the same with all Uzumaki?"

"To a limited extent, yes, but not with you and me." Shingen put both swords down, before speaking up again. "Our variant of bloodline is called Combat Adaptability. When put under stress, with wounds and with adrenalin rushing through our veins, the body begins to subtly reconstruct and improve to decrease the stress and pain, such as improving strength of muscles, bones, tissue, or decreasing the amount of toxins in your body, as well as improving immune system and developing anti-bodies for poisons, all in rapid orders. It is like forced evolution at great speed, making us stronger, faster, and with much higher endurance. In other words, the longer and harder you train and fight, the tougher and more powerful you'll get, literally. Your body will only accommodate your increased exercises, as well adapt to new challenges, like poisons. Pretty neat, wouldn't you say?" Shin smiled to him, with Naruto nodding to it.

"So, it's like a mutation of sorts in Uzumaki bloodline? Like with Mangekyou Sharingan of Uchiha?"

"No, it isn't. It is, more correctly to say, one of the bloodlines of Uzumaki, brought in by one of the clans that have merged into Uzumaki over the centuries. This particular one was around since it's foundation." Shingen explained to Naruto. "Since it's obvious that Kushina didn't tell you shit about your ancestors, you should know that overall Clan Uzumaki was not a simple clan per say. It was more like a union of several clans, joined together and forming a single entity, with the identities of clans merged in together and mixed in. One of those Clans was Senju, at least the part of it that split away from the main body. By the time they reached Uzu, there were two other clans on the island, Clans Azai and Shimazu, both with their own respective bloodlines. About 5 centuries ago, those three became the foundation of what Clan Uzumaki is now, or was, until it's near complete genocide…"

Naruto was stunned to hear about this, as it was something completely new to him. There were books about history of the various clans in the residence's library, but there was only very sparse information about Uzumaki Clan. Most of it was already well known facts, but this was the most details and information in general that he had gotten. Hell, even Kushina told nothing about it to either him, which isn't all surprising to Naruto, or the twins, only going over what is general information for everyone. But to hear that Clan Uzumaki was actually a union of clans, or a conglomeration of them… This is something unheard of, as the Clans typically prefer to stick to themselves and their own ways, not adopt and mix in the others, as it would ruin their identity and pride. But the Uzumaki did just that, and it looked like it only worked in their favor…

"Well, enough about that." Shingen broke Naruto's thought train, as picked up one of the swords, the shorter and smaller one, yet still a significantly large one. "Sorry, I haven't been completely honest with you yesterday. I have been keeping an eye out for you for quite some time now, Naruto, observing you and figuring you out." The fact that Naruto had found out that he was an object of someone's observation didn't please him one bit, making him irritated.

"What for? What would a man like you gain from observing someone like me, a clan failure?" Naruto asked of Shingen with full seriousness. "Wouldn't you be more interested in, I don't know, the heroic twins that hold Kyuubi at bay?" Naruto asked in sarcastic and irate manner, with Shingen not faltering one bit at this response.

"I believe you've already deduced, that I am not like most people in this village, Naruto. And I have no interest in two pampered, self-assured, irritating brats." Shingen simply stated to Naruto, as he tossed to Naruto the two-handed sword, which he caught. "I am more interested in those that have determination, will and guts to become something much better than they are now. And you fit that category. Now, look at this sword and tell me what do you think about it?"

Naruto did as Shingen said, taking a careful and good look at the weapon in his arms and studying it carefully. This was a large long sword, with at 5 to 6 centimeters width and just a bit shorter than Naruto's own height, which was around 159 cm., with the blade being about 110 cm. and handle around 30 cm, allowing it to be held by two hands. It was double-edged and straight, completely unorthodox from usual katanas and ninja-to, along with probably weight close to three kilos. Another interesting thing about it was the guard, made not in the form of a small shield, but as a rhomb, with two forward slopped prongs and a pointy rain-guard at the base of the blade.

It was the most unusual, yet strangely, impressive weapon that Naruto had saw and held. Taking it with two hands, he stepped away a little bit and made several swings with it, finding out that it had rather large swings, but it was actually not as hard to wield and hold as one would think. While Naruto may've been knowledgeable about theory of Kenjutsu, he had zero practice what so ever, and it was obvious that the usual techniques and teachings of it wouldn't work on this piece of good work. No, this sword seemed to be centered around not elegant and swift strikes, but around powerful and wide strikes, compensating lack of speed with power behind swing.

It was something that Naruto had found quite to his liking, actually, as with his built up strength and endurance, he didn't feel like katana was for him. But this… This could be something he could get behind. Having finished his analysis, Naruto spoke up to Shingen.

"The sword is a straight double-edged with long and wide blade. The two handed grip and it's general construction indicates that it's probably used for powerful strikes and wide swings, along with keeping opponents on a distance. Its size may sacrifice maneuverability, instead gives greater range, strength and possibly better defense, if mastered." Naruto said to Shingen, who picked up his own sword with one hand. "I've never seen any sword like it. Doesn't look like it was made in any of the Elemental Nations, or in the Land of Iron."

"Because it wasn't made in any of big five." Shingen said, as he took the stance, and in what seemed like a split second, performed a series of powerful and wide swings with his sword, easily moving his weapon, impressing Naruto, before he continued. "This sword is called claymore, and it is a sword created and utilized throughout the ages by Clan Uzumaki, made specifically for powerful and destructive blows, meant to break and pierce any and all armors. Because our Clan was often at target of attacks from mainland, our smiths and crafters had developed weapons that would accommodate our more straightforward Shinobi, with claymore being one of them. Not a weapon for subtlety and stealth, true, but a fully trained Uzumaki Shinobi with claymore, or as we called them, a Vanguard, can quite literally cut through two or three enemies with ease. I'm personally capable of slashing four or five heads in one go with this thing. Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"Yeah, very much so." Naruto admitted, as he looked closer at it, before asking the obvious question. "Why did you show this to me? I doubt this is just because you wanted to give me a history lesson."

"Actually, I did want to give you." Shingen chuckled to him. "And the other reason is because I believe it will suit you, as a primary weapon, and because I would like to train you in it, as well as Uzumaki Clan's styles of combat and techniques." Naruto instantly widened his eyes at what he had just heard. "I will be plain and honest with you, Naruto: there is a great deal of potential, a potential for being probably one of the strongest Shinobi in the world. But along with that, there is a great deal of fury, resentment, anger and even malice in you, all of which that can destroy you as a human being."

"If you've been observing my life, you should already know by now why I've got all of this." Naruto did not object to possessing it, as he himself understood that he had them. "But why, why do you _really_ want to train me so badly? For the matter of that, what makes me so… _special_ in your eyes that you let me stay in your house for dinner and the night, and now offering to train me? Are you trying to suck it up to Minato or something, or is it to reconcile with Kushina as clansmen?"

"For your information, those two people I consider to be both failures as Shinobi, and as parents, and I hold little love for them, even if Minato and I were teammates and Kushina and I are from the same clan." Shingen said with clear signs of seriousness and even anger at them. "If you want to know so badly, I will tell you, Naruto: it's because I know how you feel, and I know _what_ it will do to you. I will not go into much detail, kid, but let me tell you: all this resentment, malice, hatred… It can empower you, make you stronger, faster, _better_ , but in return… It will destroy your soul, leave you a hollow shell with nothing inside. If you continue bottle it in you and use it without care, one day you will find out that all people you cared about, your loved ones and friends, all of them are gone, either dead or have abandoned you. And at that moment, you'll realize, that all your efforts to get better and out do someone, or to prove that you better than people thought you were… Will be worth absolutely nothing to you." Shingen said seriously to Naruto, with the conviction and soul in the harsh words, with Naruto guessing that Shingen had went through the same. "I've been there, and I know that the end of this road is not for you. Now, I know I can't exactly tell you to simply get over what happened to you."

"Glad to know that _somebody_ understands that." Naruto let out an amused chuckle, though he was being serious, recalling all the times that Minato and others have told him to get over his parents' decisions and grow up.

"But what I can do, however, is to teach you how to channel that wrath of yours into the right direction, _without_ making you lose your humanity and control over your mind. And this sword," Shingen pointed at claymore in Naruto's hand. "Requires both a powerful resolve to swing it, and a clear and open mind to see where to swing it. So, what do you say, Naruto?"

Naruto took a moment to think about it, as he was finding himself conflicted. On one hand, he finally had the chance to start learning under a _real_ Shinobi, and an extremely powerful one possibly, with expertise in his arts. But on the other hand… It meant that he would have to do something he hasn't done in a long time: to fully put his trust in someone. After everything that has happened to him and how people have been treating him, Naruto found it pretty hard in him to put his full trust into someone or something. The last time he had put his trust into someone after his parents had all but exiled him from his family, he was taught a cruel lesson: some people like to take advantage of others, especially in their vulnerable state, via offering them something they crave most, and Naruto was no different.

The result had all but cemented his distrust for the general Shinobi population of Konoha, a unyielding rage and grudge towards a specific person, and was also the reason why he spent three weeks in ANBU jail cell. And now, Shingen Uzumaki was essentially asking Naruto of the same thing, the thing that Naruto had nearly swore to never give to anyone. But… Putting his analytical mind to work, Naruto worked through all of his words and speech, tone and way he spoke. And as a result of it…

Naruto took up his claymore and lifted it up, looking at the blade, with the sunrays starting to appear from the east and glittering on it, before he looked at Shingen… and gave him a firm nod. Shingen Uzumaki smiled to him and lifted up his sword and spoke up.

"Alright, we'll start up right now. First up, you need to learn the stances and how to hold this blade. Watch closely, and repeat when I say you can do that, got it?" Naruto nodded to Shingen, as he went on to take a stance, beginning their lesson.

* * *

 **Three hours later.**

Their training lasted for near two and a half hours, with Shingen not wasting a breath on idle chat or a joke, spending every moment to either show Naruto something important, correct his form, improve his stance or to judge how the boy acted and moved. And the veteran Uzumaki had to admit, that while Naruto had a couple of chinks in his style and movements, most probably the result of his self-training, he certainly had the aptitude and attitude for claymore, as well as the build for using it. While he didn't have any swordsmanship training prior to this day, he was able to pick up on movements that Shingen shown him repeat and adjust them to his physique.

He hadn't taught Naruto any fancy moves, powerful sword techniques, but he did manage to teach him the basics and foundations of claymore's specific fighting style. Now Naruto knew how to utilize it and effectively fight with it, at least to the extent that he would be able to defend himself with it. Still the progress was already impressive and Shingen was already making plans on the correct ways of training for Naruto, with his new style of Kenjutsu, as well as beyond it, as the boy had _a lot_ that he needed to learn. Especially, if Minato was going to go through with his veiled threat to Shingen.

After they were done with the training and showering, Shingen and Naruto joined in breakfast, with Aika with siblings not at all surprised that Shingen and Naruto were already training. The breakfast was going on pretty much as did the dinner, only this time Naruto felt himself a little more at ease and ate normally. When they were done with it, Hiryu and Akemi went to their rooms to gather up their things for the Exam, while Shingen attended the shop, as it was time to open it up. Naruto remained behind, deciding to help out Aika with her dishes, as it was the least that he could do for her. Once they were done, and he was ready to head out, Aika called him out.

"Naruto, could you spare a few minutes, please?" Naruto nodded to her and went back. "I have noticed that your garments do not really seem to fit your body's size. Aren't you feeling a bit… tight in them, uncomfortable?" Aika asked of Naruto, who looked at his clothes and moved a little bit, taking a notice that he did feel that way.

"Hm, now that you mention it… I've purchased these, along with most of my garments quite a while ago, over a year, when it was a good deal bigger on me, but now it seems I've grown out of them." Naruto sighed. "Truth be told, I've mended them a couple times in the past few months after trainings, but I didn't really have any sewing machine around me, and I don't really like to go to commercial district." Aika nodded to him at that.

"So Kushina didn't buy you this, or any of your clothing?" Aika asked for confirmation, with Naruto nodding.

"The last thing she bought me was a book titled: "How to be a proper older brother to your more successful siblings." By the tone of Naruto, Aika understood that he did not joke. "I believe you can understand that I didn't exactly read it."

"Yes, I can. And that just confirms my suspicions… Naruto, could you go downstairs and wait for me at the changing room. I will be in minute." Aika suddenly said to him, as she went upstairs for something, with Naruto simply shrugging at this and going downstairs, waiting for the white haired woman, before she returned with various garments and military-like shoes. "Now, I think would be just the right sizes for you. I may not have Shin's eye, but I'm not hopeless at all with garments either. Please, try them on, I insist."

Naruto took a look at the offered garments and then took a look a kind-hearted woman that was handing them to him. He sighed, before grabbing them and heading into the changing room. A couple of minutes later, he emerged from there, with the whole family as an audience. Instead of plain black garments, Naruto now sported a black short coat with pockets and hood, the shoulders and upper arms being colored red and two red stripes on each of his sleeves, with a black t-shirt underneath, as it looked out from unzipped upper part. He wore black comfortable pants and the military shoes. Overall, he felt like it was good improvement over his previous garment, as well warmer and more comfortable ones. Plus, he also felt that they were somehow purposefully designed heavier than the normal ones and had bit of a military feel to it, while also a good style as well, not that he cared for it.

Akemi blushed a little bit at the sight in front of her, while Hiryu and Aika smiled to him over this new look, with Shingen speaking up.

"Ah, so Aika has decided to give you one of my personal works. Not a bad choice, quite a good one actually." Shingen said with a professional tone, with Naruto looking up with a puzzled look. "As a Shinobi myself, I've had to deal with rather lacking equipment, so I've decided to design for Hiryu and Akemi something that could them work better, and this is one of my such works. The coat is two-layered, with cold and water resistant materials, with a protective chainmail, made out of a special synthetic material, sown in between the two layers, protecting your body. Tails and your chest area are protected by plated variant of that armor. Pants are about the same way, with the synth protection centered around your knees, upper thighs and close to feet in form of plates, so be warn. Boots are the usual Shinobi special type, closed up and not too tight around your ankles and feet, so circulation of blood goes on there. Overall, should do you well in, as it's both quite durable against shuriken, kunai and senbon and some of the large blades, but is also good for maneuvering around. Most of the Jonin I know of would want it themselves, but they are all oh so proud of those damn green jackets… So make the most of it, kiddo."

"I-It sounds great, but are you sure that I should…" Naruto was about to retort, but Shingen stopped him.

"You keep it, I've got more of this model, and it's a gift for accepting my proposition." Shingen then handed to him the claymore with which Naruto had trained up withheld by a twin hook below the crossguard, which was attached to a belt, with Naruto accepting it. "If my instincts are right, you'll be having your first real Shinobi test today, and you could use a bit of combat practice with it."

"Right, thank you." Naruto accepted it with a smile, putting the belt over his head and resting the sword on his back. "We should probably be on our way now. Thank you for everything." Naruto bowed to the parents of Hiryu and Akemi, before heading out with them.

Once outside, Naruto took a closer look at his companions and saw that they were also dressed up differently, with Hiryu sporting an fully opened variant of his coat without a hood, only platinum grey and light blue in color scheme, with a black belt holding a black straight long ninja-to, with black pants and boots. Akemi went for a dark red sleeveless jacket with several pockets, black pants and sandals, coupled with a black mesh shirt underneath it all and black gauntlets on her wrists, with a medic specialized black bag on her hip and a wakizashi behind her. All seemed to point towards them being ready for real mission.

The first one to break silence was Hiryu, as he took a look at Naruto's new armament.

"I hope that this claymore isn't too hard for you, Naruto. It can be a bit of hassle to get used to, from what I understand." Hiryu told him, with Naruto turning his attention to Hiryu. "Dad always told me that it takes a special kind of finesse to utilize it. Sadly, he didn't say I could effectively use it, so he taught me a more traditional style of Kenjutsu."

"Don't know about any finesse, but this sword does feel right in my hands. Maybe it's because I more of forward, overpowering type of fighter, so it could be that." Naruto said as, he reached to his back and gripped the handle, lifting the blade up slightly, before returning it back in hold. "Yeah, definitely my type of weapon. Just need a couple of weeks, and I think I'll be able to pierce and cut with it at a good speed. And how are you two with your weapons, and how do you prefer to fight, out of curiosity?"

"Well, you could say I am something of your antithesis in fighting style, Naruto. I've noticed that you've got a lot of stamina, strength and endurance, so you go with full on assault with brute strength and power, or hold up in sturdy defense, right?" Naruto nodded to this one. "I focus more on striking swift and precise, finding blind or vulnerable spots to utilize. My best defense is simply evasion and getting out of the attack's range, not a direct block or something of that sort. I can take a couple of hits, true, but in long term fight, I'm afraid I don't fare well at all, as Dad had told me."

"Hm, I see. And what about you, Akemi?"

"I-I'm don't really enjoy fighting all that much, so I'm more on the defenses, with Mom teaching me Aikido and using wakizashi, but I'm not all that particularly good with them." Akemi said with a shamed voice. "I've always had something of an interest in medicine, so I know a couple things about it, and teachers often said I had a good chakra control, so…"

"Akemi isn't much as a frontline fighter like you and me, Naruto, but she makes up for it by being an expert in medical arts, poisons, antidotes, anatomy and Iryo-Ninjutsu, along with Genjutsu." Hiryu took the initiative, seeing his sister struggling with a self-explanation, and making her blush. "Akemi would be an invaluable member for any team or squad, especially because of her Iryo Ninjutsu and medical knowledge learnt from Mom. From what I understand, there aren't many Shinobi these days that dedicate themselves to medical studies and Iryo Ninjutsu, not like they used to, so quite a lot get hurt pretty badly during missions and some even… Well, die, so it's practically a blessing to have a medic on and at your side."

"That's nothing new, but you are right. You've got a really useful and important skillset, Akemi, so don't sell yourself too short. Better we have more medics than grunts like me." Naruto made a small smile to her, with Akemi blushing in response. "By the way, you mentioned a couple of Uchiha orphans that'll be taking the exam with us. Anything I should know of them?"

"Well, they are twins, with Rei being the older one and Keiji the younger one, but they aren't exactly full-blooded Uchihas like most of their Clan." Hiryu told Naruto. "Their mother was apparently one of the Uzumaki Clan and a friend of our parents, but she got killed not long after the Kyuubi attack. And as for their father… Have you heard about the Hyuuga incident, about two years ago? When an ambassador from Kumo had tried to kidnap the heiress of Hyuuga Clan?"

"Yeah, I've… Been involved in it, somewhat, myself." Naruto said vaguely, recalling how he had managed to stop the kidnapper in his tracks and stall him long enough for Hyuga clansmen arrive and finish the work. "Not really all that important, but what does this have to do with their father?"

"Well, according to the investigation that was conducted after the incident, their father was found to be guilty of cooperating with that Kumo Shinobi, having provided him the means of infiltrating the Hyuga Mansion." Hiryu told Naruto, who understood how it all was connected. "Rumor has it that he pleaded not guilty and that it was set up, but when it didn't work, he had tried to escape, only to be cut down by Lord Hokage himself. Some say that Rei and Keiji were there when it all had happened and saw it firsthand, and `cause of that, they don't like Hokage, not one bit, and aren't really liked by the rest of the Village but even worse are their Uchiha Clansmen."

"What about them? Aren't they all conservative and collective, keeping only to themselves? What would those two have done to them?" Naruto asked.

"That's the thing: they are despised and even hated by Uchihas because of their mixed origins. According to Dad, Uchihas are just as hell-bent on keeping the bloodline of their Sharingan pure, as are the Hyuugas with their Byakugan. So, it wasn't a much liked union, between Uzumaki and Uchiha, plus add in the fact of their father's supposed betrayal, and…" Hiryu trailed off, with Naruto understanding what he meant.

"Looks like I'm not the only one being shafted by people of this village." Naruto bluntly stated. "I'll keep that in mind, and it doesn't sound like you believe in that guy's guilt."

"To be honest, from what I understand and have noticed, Clan Uchihas aren't very much liked in this village nowadays, and ever since the Kyuubi attack, they've been losing their position in here, even before that, actually." Hiryu told Naruto. "First they had lost their seat on the Council soon after Forth Hokage took the office, then they were literally exiled into outskirts of Village, and now they've lost one of their senior members like that. Dad says that the Uchihas didn't really approve of Minato Namikaze taking the office and opposed it, but were overruled the rest of Shinobi Clans, and are now being driven into the corner. Situation worsens for almost every day now, and nowadays, you can't have a day without hearing at least of one incident with Uchihas involved. I don't want to jinx it, but… If this continues on like that, then there might be big trouble for the village."

"But it doesn't make any sense, why would other clans and Hokage try to frame and do all this to their own comrades. This isn't how people should act, and especially Konoha Shinobi." Akemi spoke up in a judging tone, not agreeing with actions of other Clans. "The Will of Fire clearly states, that all people are a part of one big village, where they all support and love each other."

"And it also speaks about sacrificing themselves for its safety." Naruto also recalled, having heard more than enough times about this Will of Fire. "Only these Clans and Hokage don't really want to throw their own lives on the line, and would rather have it be done by someone outside of Clan, or by someone they all don't really care or like. Clan Uchiha are the latter for `em, since they are seen as unwanted elements now, despite how powerful the Sharingan is. Plus, they are the one of two founding Clans of this village, with a great deal of fame and influence, bigger than most of the clans in here, and this isn't something they like. Naturally, they would want them out of picture… The Will of Fire is a pretty exclusive concept in minds of Clans and Hokage, with them being able to use it as they please."

"No wonder that Dad has always scoffed at it, saying that it was a cheap rip-off of a Will of Unity of Uzumaki." Hiryu stated, as they began closing in on the Academy, noticing that the Kushina and her twins were in front of the doors, having seen Naruto and his companions.

Naruto stiffened immediately when he saw Kushina and her brats in front of the academy, a notion that did not escape the eyes of Hiryu and Akemi, with the latter being worried that something might happen. Kushina looked with a judging look at Naruto's new look, as well as a suddenly new addition to his armament in form of claymore, Uzumaki's traditional weapon of Vanguards. She had heard from Minato that Naruto yet again had gotten himself into trouble, now with Inuzuka Clan, and was ready to deal with humiliation of having her eldest spend time in ANBU jail, but somehow, Shingen Uzumaki had intervened and stopped Minato.

Kushina had easily recognized Shingen's and Aika's children, Hiryu and Akemi, and had to hold herself from scoffing at them. She and Shingen didn't have friendly relations, especially after he started opposing Minato in his ways of running the Village. Even before that, he had always had tried to show her up in every way, as to prove himself of being better than her, a notion she thought was idiotic, as she was obviously his superior, having been chosen by Mito Uzumaki to be the vessel of Kyuubi, out of all other Uzumaki sent here.

After that and realizing what a burden and task she was carrying on her shoulders, Kushina envied Shingen and his "freedom", even if he didn't realize it. Their animosity only furthered when after coming in terms with his condition, he had suddenly began to become one village's most respected and loved people, a protector of civilians and all those that needed it. He was even nominated and nearly won a position of Hokage, when she, holder of Kyuubi, the best of Uzu and chosen representative of Uzumaki, in Kushina's mind, wasn't even mentioned. Granted, she was happy and glad that Minato had won, but it still hurt her pride that she, a proper Uzumaki in her mind, was so easily passed over. Needless to say, her relations with Shingen did not get any better.

At the same time, Kushina had once tried to make friends with Aika Azuma, the adoptive daughter of Mito Uzumaki, her last apprentice and her closest friend and aid in her last years. At first, it was so that Kushina could gain a better chance of being handpicked by Mito as an apprentice over some "civilian" girl, as Kushina really thought, but later it was out genuine desire to be friends, as Kushina had grown to respect Aika.

Unfortunately, after the death of Mito and Kushina's ascension into a status of Jinchuriki, Aika didn't remain at her side, instead becoming a medical expert and Combat Medic in Third Shinobi War, saving countless lives during the conflict and becoming known as the White Maiden of Life. She did not stay with Kushina and supported her, as the redhead had wanted her to do, to be her friend and one she could rely on. Instead, Aika became Tsunade's equal and, along with her husband, had overshadowed Kushina at nearly every turn. The initial desire for friendship turned into a bitter feeling of resentment and jealousy, as even now, there were far more people in Konoha that praised Aika over saved lives, than Kushina for holding Kyuubi away. At least now her children were getting the respect and admiration she deserved, while Aika's and Shingen's children are nothing more than civilians, as their parents now.

However, it seems as if her eldest son, Naruto, had somehow attracted the attention of Shingen, and the old scoundrel did not waste time to use him to his advantage. Kushina knew well enough, that Shingen would not act kindly and considerably towards _her_ son if he did not intend to use him against her and Minato, something Kushina could not allow. Naruto may've been her and Minato's less impressive child and had left a lot to be desired, such a obedience and humility, but he was still her child and she would not see a member of her line being used against her without him even understanding it.

Minato may've allowed for Naruto to pass Exam early, but Kushina didn't agree with it, as she wanted him to be there for Menma and Narumi. She needed her older son, though flawed and less important than her beloved twins, to be with them, to serve as their support and back them up in their path. And this meant that he needed to graduate with them, and while he may be older than them. What she and Minato had done was a punishment meant to teach him humility and obedience to his family, which was necessary after that public humiliation. He may've avoided his family, brought countless disgraces to her and Minato and now even sought to break away from her, but she would not allow him to act like he is the most important thing in the world. Taking in a breath, she spoke up.

"Naruto, there you are. I have been waiting for you for quite some time." Kushina said, without even greeting him or his friends. "You've nearly made your twins miss their first lesson when you did not show up. How can you explain this behavior of yours, young man?"

"Yeah, because of your stupid ass, we nearly got punished for arriving late!" Menma added up, with Naruto simply looking at him with a blank sight.

"And where did you go after the Academy, and who are these two with you?" Narumi asked arrogantly of him. "Is this fake red hair or something? Well, if she's trying to copy Mom, she's failing badly, if you ask me." Akemi looked insulted at this jab, with Hiryu narrowing his eyes on the girl.

"I'd watch your tongue if I were you, Narumi." Naruto had to hold himself from slapping the girl in public. "They are members of Uzumaki Clan, our very distant cousins, to be exact. And unlike the shrimps like you, she doesn't need to cosplay as their parents to look beautiful and attractive, at least in the case of Akemi, though I suppose Hiryu would be getting some attention from women, given that he does look far less repulsive then most people." Akemi blushed red at the praise, while Hiryu nervously chuckled at this compliment.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment, but you are correct in this regard. I often do see girls and even some of the older women looking at me like I'm on the sale or something. It's kinda… satisfying in its own way, but also really creepy at times." Hiryu commented to Naruto, before turning to Kushina and her kids. "Apologies, Lady Kushina, but we have already met. Your husband and you have visited our shop a couple of months prior, ordering a new kimono for you and your daughter."

"Young man, I believe I haven't asked you or your sister to speak up, so do not butt into a conversation." Kushina cut Hiryu off without any sense of politeness, making him shut his mouth. "Now, Naruto, I am still waiting for an answer. Why did you miss your class?"

"I think that is pretty obvious already. Didn't Hokage tell you?" It was an obvious question for Naruto, which made Kushina stiffen up at this one, before she answered.

"Naruto, I believe we have had this discussion already a couple years ago. You will graduate, but only when you are ready for it, and in my opinion, you best do so with your twin siblings." Kushina said sternly to Naruto. "You are not ready, and I will have words with your instructors about this negligent attitude towards their responsibilities. Now, you still have to apologize to Tsume for your…"

"That's filthy rich, coming from you. And as for that apology, how about that woman apologizes to Akemi here for those mingy mutts and their blatant assaults on her?" Naruto stood his ground, with Hiryu listening to this one closely, while Akemi has decided to quietly hide behind her brother's and Naruto's backs.

"Listen, loser, don't go disrespecting our Mom! She and Dad were right to have given us our titles, and you are just jealous of all the fame and stuff we get! And what about this redhead and apologizing? Sure, she's got some nice looks and all, but she should be proud that Shinobi are taking a notice of her. After all, it's always cool to have a Shinobi checking you out. That's what civilian girls are for: to look cute and nice for taking, as Ero-Sannin told me." Menma loudly proclaimed, with Hiryu responding to this one.

"That's quite a statement, coming from a pre-teen kid. I would be careful with that mouth of yours, because you never know when that same mouth will get permanently shut for insulting one's sister." Hiryu's tone immediately changed from a nice and rational one, into one of cold and determined threatening, with Menma and Narumi taking a step back, while Kushina glared at him. "Lady Kushina, perhaps it would be best if you had imparted some manners about etiquette into your son's head. It does not befit a future Clan Head to have manners of a… Well, I would like to say a tavern keeper, but that would be insulting of them." Hiryu let out the smallest of smiles out, with Menma practically growling at Hiryu, while Naruto actually smiles at it.

"I believe the term you are looking for, Hiryu, is a deviant, if I am not mistaken." Naruto added up to this statement.

"Hm… Yes, that does sound about right." Hiryu openly agreed with Naruto, with Kushina glaring at the two of them. "Mind if Akemi and I go on ahead? We'll wait at the Exam room."

"Sure thing." Naruto agreed with them, with Akemi and Hiryu leaving the conflicting family members alone. "Shouldn't you two brats go as well? Your fan clubs and fanatics must be starting to shift towards that emo and his shrieking banshees." Naruto simply stated, with the two deciding to head towards their class, with Kushina's agreement.

"Naruto, tell me, are you acting like this because your father and I've made Menma and Narumi into heirs? I've already told you, that they have what it takes to be heirs and are better suited for it. You are acting like a bratty child, who can't have another toy for himself. If you had stopped being such a child, you would see that Minato and I've made the right decision." Kushina argued to her son. "Now, what is it with your new cloths and that claymore you are wearing? Did you steal them from someone again?"

"For the hundredth time, I'm not a thief. And these are actually a gift from our relatives." Naruto simply stated to her. "And as for all this acting, how would you react when you've been metaphorically fucked over by your own parents, hm? Let me tell, it tends to make people bitter, resentful and quite angry, just like it happened to me. Now, if you are done, I've got an Exam to take and a headband to receive." Naruto was moving towards the door, before he was grabbed by Kushina who glared at him.

"And I've said, that you will _not_ be taking that Exam, not until your siblings graduate." She gripped Naruto's hand tightly. "Now, what you will do, is go to my friend, apologize to her, and after that you and will have a long and profound talk about your attitude, is that clear?!" Kushina nearly shouted at him, nearly yanking Naruto's arm off, until Naruto has had enough and released himself from her by pushing out of his arm Chakra, nearly making Kushina fall onto her butt at this one. "What in the… Naruto, get back here this instant! If you don't come here and apologize, then…"

"Then you can go and fuck yourself!" Naruto shouted out at Kushina, stunning her with his anger and rage. "When will you fucking get it through that thick head of yours, that those damned brats are the last things I want to see on daily basis, along with you and that blond idiot of a husband?! You've denied me everything I had ever wanted and took away from me what was rightfully mine, but enough is enough! I'm going there and I am graduating, and after that, you can kiss me goodbye, because I'll be leaving that damned house of yours!" With that, Naruto headed to the building, with Kushina finally catching on what he was saying.

"Naruto, you can't mean that! I _won't_ allow you to leave your house! I am your mother, and you _will_ listen to what I have to say to you!" Kushina shouted at Naruto, who stopped and looked at Kushina with a heated glare, before stating in a cold fury to Kushina.

"I don't have a mother." Naruto stated with cold fury to Kushina, closing the door behind him, with her standing there with a stunned expression.

* * *

 **Alright, I think I've drawn it off enough. I initially planned for Naruto to graduate in this chapter, but I got caught up a bit in writing this part with Kushina, as I wanted to show you the relations between Naruto and his family. Hope I did well enough.**

 **Now, as you've read, I've decided for Naruto to have a not so standard weapon, namely a Scottish claymore, one of the more fearsome weapons, with a good bit of balance to it. While I understand that this isn't exactly a Japanese type of weapon, it is however, now a part of story, and is a part of my lore of Uzumaki Clan, who will be playing a significant role in it too. Also, considering that there are some pretty massive and powerful weapons in Naruto, like Samehada, Kibikirihocho and some others, claymores are pretty tame.**

 **As for the Clan Uzumaki, they aren't exactly a singular clan, but more like a union, a federation of clans, united in a single political entity, a country. This is why there are several bloodlines in it, and there will be more distinctions, as well as secrets of Uzumaki to be revealed.**

 **Naruto Path of Shinobi and Lion of West are being written, but it takes quite a bit of time for me, sorry. Next week they will be posted up. Do please mind that I have a university and real life to consider, so it does put a couple of wrenches in my free time.**

 **Comment, review, suggest, follow, favor, question, I'll answer all.**

 **See ya!**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto practically stormed through the Academy's halls, barely restraining himself from smashing a wall next to him with his fist. His fury flaming inside of him like a raging forest fire, with his mind and whatever self-control he had left in him restraining him from letting it loose. He was now done, completely and utterly done with _that_ family, his now _former_ family. For half of his life he had to endure with this negligence and arrogance, but he has had enough already. Kushina or Minato may say whatever the hell they wanted, but the moment he had his headband and Genin license, Naruto will be leaving their accursed home, finally getting at least some control over his life.

It would probably be still not enough for a full independence, but this would be a start. Last few years have been an agony for Naruto and it was well due time he had received reprieve from it. Constantly listening to all those propagandized speeches of Minato, or the attention-craving Kushina, preaching about his role in her house and Clan, doing it in a kind that he was still her little boy… Naruto may've not believed in the cycle of reincarnation, but if this were true, he would very much would like to know, what the hell has he done so insidious to have deserved such a cruel punishment?

Anyway, it did little good to him to dwell about such matters at the moment. What was really important is getting his headband, getting his stuff out of the residence, and finding a place to live. The first was in relative easiness of acquiring, while the second could be slightly problematic, but Naruto didn't really require all that much from his home. Only his more or less functional garments, notes, stash of throwing weapons, saved up money and the books with scrolls he had managed to get over his time. Kushina and Minato had completely restricted access to any and all books on Fuinjutsu in their library, even to the simplest ones, probably so that their brats wouldn't learn how to temper with their seals. Naruto did, however, manage to learn a couple of things about Sealing, including how to make storage scrolls to carry things within them.

And as for finding a place to live… He would have to ask for Shingen for help in setting him up with a landlord or two. The man apparently held an extremely high level of both authority and influence over the civilian sector of the Village, so he it would stem to reason that he would know most, if not all, renters in the Village. Of course, Naruto did consider a possibility of asking him and Aika to become their tenant, but Naruto wasn't going to push his luck with that. It would be not very polite and they had no reason to even allow him to stay at their house for a prolonged time. Sure, he did save their daughter from being assaulted and harassed, but the clothes, the claymore, and a few meals with a night's rest at their house were more than enough of a payment of this debt in his eyes. No, he would need to find his own apartment…

"Naruto, over here!" Naruto had stopped in his tracks, turning to his right and seeing Hiryu and Akemi standing near one of the cabinets, with two more persons near them. "The Exam's going be held here. Come on." Naruto headed towards them.

Once Naruto came in closer, he was able to take a look at the two unknown persons. Both were around his physical age, had black hair and red eyes, indications of their mixed Uzumaki and Uchiha heritage. The girl was tall, with very long, reaching to her waist, raven black hair, with a red cloth tied behind, making a small tail at her head level. She wore black and red dress with short sleeves, red gauntlets with gloves on her arms, with black shorts on her legs and high boots, all black in color, all coupled with a katana strapped to her left hip. She looked at him with an untrusting eye and was probably judging him already, as many had done before her. As for the guy, he had short black hair, with looked like feathers of a crow, with his sharp chin. He wore a plain grey and black short coat with rolled up sleeves, black pants and boots, with a red cloak strapped behind him, reaching to his waist. On his hips rested two one-handed scythes, with the rolling blades, judging from the construction. He looked at Naruto with the curious eye, though did not let it appear so. Naruto looked at Hiryu and Akemi, with the former speaking up, having taken a notice of Naruto's state.

"I… I take that your talk with Lady Kushina didn't go well?" It was not much of a question, even if Hiryu had given it the intonation. "Sorry if we've caused you two to…"

"You've got nothing to apologize for. If anything, it was a long overdue talk for me…" Naruto let out a sigh, calming down, before looking at the silent siblings. "Mind doing the introductions, Hiryu?" Naruto bluntly asked of him, with Hiryu coughing out a little.

"Right, sorry. Naruto, this is Rei and Keiji Uchiha, the ones I've told you about." Hiryu turned to the twins. "Rei, Keiji, this is…"

"We know who it is." Rei interrupted Hiryu, narrowing her eyes at Naruto, though it seemed like there wasn't much in terms of hostility coming from her.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the disgraced and disinherited heir of Uzumaki and Namikaze Clans, casted aside for his more favorable siblings. An utter disgrace of Hokage and his wife, who doesn't give two fucks about authority and who has been held up for three years from Academy and force to go into class with all the big-shot Heirs. Along with being the most frequent visitor to ANBU jail and a near universal object of mockery and humiliation from the dumb idiots of this pristine village…" Keiji listed everything with an initial look of disgust and even mockery, with Naruto narrowing his eyes on him.

"If you two have a problem with me being here, then you better speak up. I couldn't care less what you think about me, but I do prefer when people speak directly and in my face, even if they have some dumb shit to tell me." Naruto coldly responded to Keiji, with two… suddenly softening their gazes, and with Keiji even offering him a hand.

"No problem with me, pal. Any guy who's capable of beating up those stuck up assholes and tells them who they really are, is a friend of mine." Keiji smiled to him, with Naruto accepting his hand and shaking it. "Pleasure's all ours, or mine at least. You can hardly tell it with her, since she is all anti-social and stuff." Keiji motioned towards his sister, who simply rolled her eyes at that one.

"Yeah, and you like to run your mouth amok." Raven said back to him, before looking back at Naruto. "Hiryu told us how you took care of those Inuzuka horndogs that were trying to assault Akemi yesterday. Glad to know that _someone_ isn't letting them have their way with people out here. Although, I do hope you understand, that unlike my little fool of a brother here, I'm not one to trust people so easily, especially ones with your kind of parentage." Raven unintentional, or not, had let her hand rest on her katana.

"Would've been more surprising if you did, considering what Hokage have done to the two of you." Naruto bluntly said, with Keiji widening his eyes, while Rei had narrowed them and gripped her blade.

"And what, do tell, did you hear about it?" Rei asked in a lower tone, with the tension starting to mount up in the hall. "What would you, son of the said Hokage, have to say about it, huh?" Rei dared Naruto, coming a little bit closer to him, with her fully matured Sharingan out in the open, which didn't scare Naruto at all.

"I heard that he was accused and executed for collaborating with a Kumo infiltrator, and what I think about it is that it was a complete bullshit." Naruto suddenly surprised her and Keiji. "Uchihas have no love for Hyuuga, but even less for Kumo, and only an idiot would cooperate and help to an enemy of the village. And while Uchihas are prideful and arrogant as hell, they aren't stupid, most of them at least, and even one did the deed, then he would not leave a trail, if he was a professional Shinobi."

"The way I see it, Lord Hokage and his cadre of stuck-up Clan Heads needed an excuse and a scape goat for their blunder, and they used your father as one. I may be missing on a detail or not, but that's how I see it." Naruto stated his opinion on the matter to the twins.

Rei and Keiji exchanged glances with one another, until Rei let her guard drop, with Keiji giving Naruto a grin, acknowledging that there were no more animosities between them. Once the tension had finally dropped, Rei spoke up.

"Didn't expect anyone but Shingen say it like not a son of Hokage and his redheaded Queen, or Princess, whatever she likes to see herself." Rei let out a chuckle with a small smile to him. "Keep this up, and I might even start to like you."

"Which in common language means, that you are now considered as a potential boyfriend for her." Keiji said in joking manner, before he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "A piece of advice for the future: she may be letting out an all-out tough lady exterior, but inside, she's all soft and shy. So basically she's a tsundere, only without the dere part." And at that point, Keiji received a well-deserved elbow in the abdomen from Rei, who looked at Naruto with an annoyed expression.

"Before you ask, he did not come with an off switch." Rei simply stated, while Keiji regained his composure. "And no, I'm not looking for any escapades like dating. If you, then try your luck with Akemi here, since she's our role model of cuteness and beauty around." Rei simply pointed at the redhead, who blushed up intensively at that.

"R-Rei, wh-what are you s-saying?! A-and out in the open?! I-I'm not th-that p-pretty or cute…" Akemi denied everything, before Naruto decided to speak up.

"I wasn't interested to begin with, nor do I look for any… potential romances." Naruto simply stated, crossing his arms on his chest. "Although, when compared to most women and girls I've seen in here, you two do look far more appealing to my eye from both appearances and characteristics."

"If this is your way of flirting with us, then it's not really working with me." Rei stated to him, with Akemi blushing even more at this, while Hiryu and Keiji simply chuckled at it.

"Wasn't trying, simply stated the obvious." Naruto said to her. "Let's change the subject, shall we? You two are also here for your headbands as well?"

"How'd you guess? Did something give us away?" Keiji sarcastically asked of Naruto, with him giving him a blank look. "Seriously, dude, looks to me that you need to work on your social skills. I mean, asking about the weather would be more to place."

"Sorry, not much of a social person. I usually do more talking with my fists than by speaking." Naruto simply stated, with Rei chuckling to it. "Outside of that, don't really see much point for chit chat."

"Wish he could take a page out of your book on talking." Rei nodded to Keiji. "But yeah, we are here for it. Got tired of listening to the same old song about how great those Hokage were and what a high and mighty our current one is…" Rei scoffed at the mention of Minato. "What about you? Same thing? Or trying to impress someone?"

"Same, though add to it being placed in a classroom full of all sorts of brats and screaming banshees, not to mention twin brats with foxes in them." Naruto answered to Rei, with her nodding to it. "From the looks of things, we'll probably be made into a 5-men Squad. Wonder who'll be in charge of our training."

"From what Dad said, the Hokage will put a Jonin and a Special Jonin as our instructors and sensei." Hiryu said to everyone. "The Jonin will be in charge of the unit, while Special Jonin acts as his XO and also trains for his or her future position of Jonin. This practice had originated in Kiri, from what he told me, but quickly got adopted by other nations and Hidden Villages. Although, I am curious on whom would Hokage give us as our teachers…Maybe Kurenai Yuuhi and Asuma Sarutobi? Those two seem like capable and responsible Shinobi for this job."

"Hopefully." Naruto agreed somewhat with Hiryu. "I hope Hokage doesn't set us up with his number one fan boy. You may know him as Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Cat with Sharingan, or whatever they call him."

"The guy with the facial mask, reads cheap porn out in the open, and is terrible with time, along with being a general lazy asshole with a boner for Forth Hokage?" Keiji said in one beat, with Hiryu adding up to this one.

"Hangs out around the memorial of fallen Shinobi all the time, never takes of his mask, prime buyer of the Toad Sage's… colorful literature, and a former Anbu Captain?" Naruto was surprised at hearing more details from Hiryu, but still responded.

"Same one. You've met?" Hiryu merely nodded to this one, with a face that told he was not really a fan of the man either, with Akemi doing the same.

"Yeah, Hokage had put him as our guardian in the first couple, after he..." Rei didn't finish up, as it was still too sore for her and Keiji to talk about it. "Needless to say, we didn't really get along, and with how we were viewed by the Shinobi populace after that stunt with our father, we weren't the most wanted for adoption, even by our dad's Clan. Fortunately, Hiryu's and Akemi's dad has connections with Royal Court, so he got us out of the bind with that silver-haired arse, setting it all up so that we could take care of ourselves, with him checking up on us and, occasionally, giving us money for living."

"And he did all of that just because he and our Mom are from the same clan, and he used to be great friends with her, before the Kyuubi's Attack." Keiji added to this. "In all seriousness though, that blond bastard may be the one with the hat, but it's Shingen that does all the right stuff to keep this place running, even though most of the Shinobi a-holes would like nothing more than to kick him out here."

"A blunt statement, but, unfortunately, not all that inaccurate." Hiryu agreed with Keiji, before he turned to Naruto. "Say, Naruto? I know that it's not our place to pry, but… We had heard a little bit of your talk with Lady Kushina, and I would like to ask, do you need any help, considering…" Hiryu trailed off.

"Considering that I just denounced that woman as a mother of mine?" Naruto bluntly stated, not even blinking. "I think I will need some, but I'd rather talk about it with your father. No offence to either of you."

"Um, Naruto, are you sure that it was… necessary?" Akemi asked of Naruto, getting him to look at her. "I know you've said that you weren't in the best of relations, but still, she is your mother and I think she would feel bad for what had happened between you."

"Your optimism is appreciated, Akemi, but is utterly misplaced with her." Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. "If there is one thing that I've learned about Minato and Kushina, then it would that neither will ever admit that they had made a mistake. Especially Kushina, since she always prided herself as "better than most", and every decision she makes is the right one. She may put up a front of people, but in reality, all she cares about is that she was right about everything, even when she is wrong. Because that way, she is the better one from the most…" Naruto scoffed at this one.

"Pal, if you are really trying to get into my sis's panties, then you are hitting all the right buttons." Keiji laughed, before he received the next elbow in the stomach. "Ugh... You do know that it hurts, right?" Keiji looked at his sister, who simply grinned at him.

"That's the idea, dumbass. Afterall, that's the only way that at least shuts you up for _some_ time." Rei sighed at her brother. "And unlike you, I don't go around chasing after ever shirt skirt and tight dress I see in the town..."

"Wouldn't that be a sight... And for the record, I don't go after _every_ girl." Keiji retorted, motioning to Akemi. "Akemi is far too pure for the smooth dashign rogue like me. I do have principals, I'll have you know..."

"Something tells me that it has more to do with Hiryu's blade, and Shingen, rather then some principals." Naruto bluntly stated, with Keiji shooting him a glance.

"Well, one does not contradict the other in this matter." Hiryu added up, with Naruto and Rei chuckling up. "Although, Keiji does have some principals... Though I doubt that they are as consistant as your interest in fairer sex."

"Hiryu, when it comes down to choosing between the woman of your life and some principals, I would still choose principals." Keiji said with pride of himself. "After all, that will still leave me avaliable for all the other beauties out there, right?" Keiji said them with a grin.

"If I ever find the girl that can tolerate you for more than ten minutes, then I'll be really surprised." Rei stated, shaking her head, before turning to Naruto. "But I'm actually surprise and gald to find someone who can't stand that pompous red-assed sow... No offence, I hope."

"If it's towards Kushina, be my guest. And as for myself... Try not to mention the twin brats, and I think you will be in the safe." Naruto remarked to her, with Rei nodding to it, before Iruka Umino came out of the cabinet and spoke up.

"Alright, I see that all the applicants are here, so come in and let's get this started." He smiled to his students, allowing them enter and finally begin their Examination.

* * *

 **Sometime 's General Hospital. Aika's cabinet.**

Having finished up with household chores and leaving the home in Shingen's care, Aika headed towards her workplace in hospital. While the entire hospital was being run by Tsunade Senju, it was generally considered that Tsunade ran the section that serviced the Shinobi population, while Aika worked with civilian population, leading this sector of hospital. This statement wasn't exactly too off though, as the majority of Aika's patients were from the civilian side of Konoha, most of the Shinobi not really trusting her enough with their health or thinking her as an insufficient medic, due to her being married to someone who was considered a traitor.

Such superstitions only caused Aika to scoff and even laugh at it, as it was utterly ridiculous and most certainly was said either out of general dislike towards her husband, or simply out of arrogance. Aika Azuma had proven hundreds of times that she was not just a good medic, but one of the best on the face of this world, being able to go toe to toe with Tsunade Senju on this field. And in the field of psychological and mental health, Aika was Tsunade's superior. She had saved at least over a several thousand lives on her own, and helped recover from the PTSD hundreds of Shinobi and civilians, during the Third Shinobi World War, while all that Tsunade did was punch things and forgetting about her medical expertise.

And yet, despite all the lives saved and helped, Konoha Council with Hiruzen Sarutobi saw fit to put Tsunade in charge of the Konoha Hospital right after she had returned. Although, Aika's work was noted and had granted her the post of the head doctor in the Hospital, right under Tsunade's position, which had led to Aika effectively taking the running day to day administrations and work of the hospital, while Tsunade worked directly, rarely involving herself in logistics of the hospital. It took a monumental and colossal effort for Aika to set up a functional and effective hospital system, with capable and professional doctors and nurses. Of course, most of the Shinobi had believed that it was Tsunade responsible for such an efficient system, with her being only glad to take the credit and have less paperwork on her. Needless to say, that while Aika wasn't a prideful person and actually highly respected Tsunade as a leading medical specialist, she wasn't particularly friendly with her. Professional was a more accurate term to characterize their relations.

Aika had finished up another routine checkup, and wrote down on the papers what was needed, as she spoke up with her patient.

"Well, Councilor Homura, all I can say is that your age is starting to catch up with you. The increase in blood pressure, temperatures, occasional aches and pains in your muscles, as well as arteries' problems, not to mention your heart's condition… All of these are very common among the older generations of Shinobi, especially among the once with your age." Aika handed to the sitting next to her councilor a paper with her recommendations and medications' list. "My prescriptions are less highly intense physical activity and less worrying. Spending the written amount of time in hot springs for aches and pains each week, as well as taking the vitamins will deal with the blood pressure and strengthen your immune system. Aside from that, try not to overexert yourself and not worry too much. I would suggest taking a long vacation in one of the hot spring towns with your family."

"Hm, I wish I could follow your advice, Aika, but with how tense and degrading things are in the Village with Uchihas and rampant acts of Shinobi violating laws, I'm afraid I'll have to forget about it for a while." Councilor Homura sighed, as he put the paper in his pocket. "I assume you've heard about such acts taking place here in Konoha? Not a week goes by without several reports coming in about assaults made by Shinobi towards women or civilians in general. The Inuzuka Clan is especially barbaric in this way."

"You don't have to tell me about it, Councilor. My daughter, Akemi, was assaulted just yesterday after Academy by four Inuzuka Genins." Aika sighed, with Homura widening his eyes at hearing about it. "I shudder at what they could've done with my sweet daughter, had it not been for Naruto dealing with those bullies…"

"Naruto? As in Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage's and Kushina's eldest son and their disinherited child?" Homura asked surprised, with Aika nodding. "Poor kid… I saw how the general population views him, especially the Shinobi Clans, and I am not all that surprised that he grew into such a delinquent. Although, I am surprised that he had helped out your daughter."

"I would not call him a delinquent, Councilor. It is true that he does end up in many fights and arguments, but from where I see it and understand, all Naruto does is retaliate in case he is directly provoked." Aika stated to the old man. "He is not a delinquent, not at all. He is just a poor child that was forced to endure the negligence of his parents and the general mockery… When your closest people turn their backs on you, and everyone is laughing at, whispering about and mocking you, you grow to resent them, and resentment can easily lead to anger and after a while, you can't take being mocked by everyone…"

"Yes, I can see your point." Homura said, as he stood up and made his way to the door. "I'll see to it that civilians and those Clans that I have connections with either show respect to his persona, or at the very least do not provoke him. After all, he has never assaulted a civilian populace, and has been known to stand up for it, even if needlessly at times. And in these times, that does deserve a level of respect, especially with how Shinobi act towards citizens. Have a good day, Aika." Homura nodded to her and left the cabinet, closing the door behind him, while Aika returned to filing up some of the medical documents.

Unfortunately for her, Aika's relative peace and quiet was shattered, when through her door barged in someone she had not expected to see at all. Taking her eyes off the medical files and documents, Aika saw that in front of her Kushina Uzumaki, fuming and looking as furious as she could be, with her long red hair forming up the infamous tails of a fox behind her. While such sight could've intimidated most people, Aika was by far not the most, and she was used to seeing angered and aggravated Uzumaki, having spent a very long time in their company. And even though Kushina had stood out from among them as being one with possibly the shortest fuse, that didn't mean that Aika was terrified or scared of her. Calmly closing up and putting away the files, Aika looked up at Kushina and spoke up.

"Kushina, I hope you have a very good reason to barge in here unannounced and prior notification." Aika calmly stated to her, as Kushina made her way to her desk and, with a single punch, broke it in half. "You do realize that this is a destruction of hospital's property? I don't know what had gotten you so riled up, Kushina, but if you are simply looking for someone to take out your anger on, I suggest you find Might Gai and challenge him. Knowing him, he'll be only glad to accommodate you."

"Joke all you want, Aika, but I know what you and your husband are up to." Kushina said with a heated hatred in her voice, making Aika raise her eyebrow at her in confusion. "You think that you can just steal my son away from me?! Don't get your hopes up, because I'll never allow it!" Kushina shouted at Aika, who had started to piece everything together.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that it has something to do with Naruto staying over for the night." Aika could see that she was correct in her assumptions, as Kushina glared at her. "Kushina, despite what you may think, me and my husband are not exactly fixated on hurting you. And as for allowing Naruto to stay for the night and giving him the new cloths, he did save Akemi from your friend's clansmen assaulting her, and with the storm raging on yesterday, I thought it was best if he had spent the night in our guest room. As for the new clothing and claymore, they were a material reward for what he did."

"Is that what you call it, huh? Material reward?!" Kushina had nearly shouted at Aika again. "And what about the fact that Naruto had just outright insulted me in public when I tried to stop him from making a big mistake? What about the fact that he had refused to comply with my demand, his mother's demand, to apologize to her friend for his actions? What about the fact, that he had announced that he was going to leave _my_ house?! What about the fact that he had openly DENOUNCED ME AS HIS MOTHER?!" Kushina shouted at Aika, with possibly all of hospital having heard it, with Aika widening her eyes in surprise.

"Naruto had denounced you as his mother?" Aika was genuinely surprised at hearing it.

"Oh, don't make it look like you are surprised. I'm confident that you had specifically set this all up with your sow of a daughter to..." In a single moment, Kushina was forced to shut up, as her head moved away because of a strong slap on her face.

Aika Azuma-Uzumaki was a patient woman, a very collected and calm person that could handle more than her fair share of badmouthing and insults thrown in her address or towards her husband. However, she was not without pride or dignity, along with her own line that should not be crossed, a subject not to be touched upon. And this line, that subject, were her children, especially her younger daughter Akemi, who despite being born a year after Hiryu, had managed to make her way into his class with her academic successes. A soft spoken, humble and shy girl, she was Aika's and Shingen's dear and sweet daughter, one that they would do anything to protect.

They didn't want her to go through Shinobi program and training, but they did respect it and Aika had personally trained Akemi as an Iryo Shinobi and overall medical expert. Akemi had achieved great successes in those fields, and Aika would never, _ever_ allow someone, even wife of Hokage and a recognized head of Clan Uzumaki, to insult her little girl. And she most certainly had the strength and capacity to make sure to put even Kushina Uzumaki in her place. Aika stepped through the rubble made by Kushina and grabbed her by the collar, before speaking up in a threatening and cold manner.

"Listen up, Kushina. I don't give a damn if you and your poor excuse of a heroic messiah insult me or my husband, we both can take it." Aika pulled Kushina closer to herself. "But I will never allow anyone, _especially_ the likes of you, to insult and belittle my children. Unlike you, I've never belittled and insulted people just because of their status or talents, or just to get attention and respect. And neither my daughter have done so. So if you are looking for someone to blame for what had happened to you and Naruto, then why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror." Aika pushed Kushina away from herself with ease, with the latter glaring daggers at her.

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault, is that it?!" Kushina shouted at me, with Aika not flinching even slightly. "And what, in your professional and profound opinion, I have done to earn this attitude towards me from my own son, hm? Enlighten me!"

"If you want to know so badly, then it will be my pleasure." Aika allowed herself a little bit of gloating to get out. "You and your husband, Kushina, have not just neglected Naruto, oh no. _That_ would've been at least somewhat forgivable, given your preoccupation with your twins. No, what you did was far worse than that. You didn't _just_ neglect Naruto: you've outright abandoned him. You've tossed him away, discarded like a used kunai, in favor of raising your "heroic" twins."

"That's just pure nonsense! Do you even hear yourself, Aika?! Me, an Uzumaki and Head of the Uzumaki Clan, _abandoning_ my son?!" Kushina looked completely revolted by the notion. "Minato and I have never abandoned Naruto! All we ever did was for the betterment of our children!"

"Yes, you sure have done so, at least for Menma and Narumi." Aika pointed out that little fact, with Kushina not being allowed to speak up in her defense. "Personal training from two of the best Shinobi in the village, absolute reverence and adoration of the entire Konoha, most lavish parties and the best presents on their birthdays, not to mention the statuses of Heirs of your respective clans. Yes, you and Minato have most certainly done _everything_ for the sake of your children… Even tossed aside the inconvenience that was Naruto, having left him with nothing but misery, loneliness, bitterness and absolutely justified fury at you, your twins and your husband."

"Just who or what has give you the right to judge how Minato and I raise our children and just _who_ do you think you are to spew these lies about me and Minato about Naruto?!" Kushina was on the verge of killing Aika for these words. "Any and all actions towards Naruto have always been to his benefit and betterment! He simply never held the same amount of talent and capacity for being Heir of Uzumaki, nor Namikaze, like Narumi and Menma have in them, and Naruto understood it, until _you've_ poisoned his mind! I bet you and Shingen have been plotting behind our backs for years now. You two are the reason he had humiliated me and our family in such a manner three years ago!"

"Is this what you tell yourself now, Kushina? That it had never been your fault, but some clandestine and evil plot to break your family apart? That you two had _nothing_ to do with how Naruto from a kind and sweet child changed into a lonely, angered and humiliated boy?!" Aika couldn't simply believe what Kushina was telling her right now. "Kushina, you've _literally_ told him that he was not good enough for those title, nor was he _good enough_ for your and Minato's attention when you started training the twins five years ago! What is even worse, is that you've made him _believe_ that if he were train and better himself, then you two imbeciles would be proud of him! And as the result, you've made Naruto throw away two years of his life, training on a near brink of his body collapsing under the stress and pain, all that he could make you two _fucking proud of him!_ " Aika literally went to shouting at Kushina at this point, who had flinched at the fact that usually composed and calm Aika had lost her nerve with her.

"That boy only ever wanted to make his parents proud of him, so that they may look at him with admiration and pride for his achievements. That's all that Naruto had ever wanted out of you: that you two were fucking proud of the fact that he is your son! And instead, all he received was you forgetting about his birthdays, leaving him alone and not even once even wondering where the hell he was all this time! Would you like me to tell you, Kushina?!" Aika was panting slightly as she let it all out of herself.

"Naruto probably got involved with some shady company, the same ones that had probably corrupted my clever and understanding boy into what he is now. It was one of the main reasons why Minato and I've decided to pass over the responsibilities and honors of Clan Heirs to Menma and Narumi." Kushina simply stated, completely convinced in her reasoning, Aika barely restraining herself from harming Kushina.

"And have either of you ever, even once ever checked if this damn thought of yours was true?" Aika was almost shaking with maternal fury burning inside of her. "Have either of you arrogant idiots _ever_ had talked with Naruto about what he was doing?!"

"We were too busy with Menma and Narumi, training them to control their chakra and Kyuubi within them. We knew that Naruto would be able to take care of himself, and if he had something bothering him, he would come to us and talk about it, but he never did." Kushina stated it as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, with Aika now seeing red at what she just heard from this… this bitch! "And soon after he started to simply disappear and we realized that he got involved with bad company, so we had to do what we did."

At this moment, Aika literally had snapped, as she clenched her fists and sent her right ne right in Kushina's face. Kushina in her prime was one of the few Shinobi in the village that could match the prowess and skill of Shingen, Minato and several other Uzumaki Shinobi. Had she not herself get soft and stopped her career as a Shinobi, she would've probably been able to deflect that punch from Aika. But, Kushina had lost some of her combat aptitude, and Aika had no problem smashing her fist in Kushina's face and sending her crushing through the door behind her, reducing it to the pile of rubble and splinters, along with cracking and damaging the wall next to it.

Aika stepped out of her cabinet, completely livid and ready to kill Kushina for what she had done to Naruto. She may've been a doctor, but she was also a mother, and her motherly heart could not have stayed idle and silent to what she heard from Naruto. She was not just someone who had mended his wounds and relieved him of pain in body, but also had listened to what he had to tell about his life. He probably never even fully realized it, but Aika was the only single person he had told everything that he had gone through and what had happed to him: rejection in training, forgetting to spend time with him, ignoring him on dinners, complete obliviousness towards his birthdays, and then…

Aika had helped Naruto heal his wounds and traumas for five years, and all of this time she had watch with pain and fury in her heart what had been happening to the boy. She watched how a quiet, cheerful and kind boy grow into a lonely, bitter and abandoned young man, being with Aika serving as the only one who could relief him of the pain inside his heart by simply listening to him. She was one of the few making sure he knew that there were some people who cared about his existence, all by simply letting him speak and her listening to him. All because no matter how you like it, people need to let out their thoughts and feelings, share them with others, or otherwise they would drown in it all alone.

She had wanted to believe that his parents weren't that ignorant, and that they would _at least_ try to understand what Naruto was going through, so that they may realize their mistakes and fix it before it was too long. Aika had prayed that Minato and Kushina had realized what a horrible mistake they made and made their best to reconnect with Naruto. Aika had hoped that at least deep down Kushina and Minato realized and fathomed what their actions have made Naruto into…

But Aika was wrong, completely wrong in this regard, with Kushina just confirming it all. Not only they were ignorant enough as to not see their mistakes, but they were arrogant enough as to think that had happened to Naruto was not their fault at all. They've already made their judgments and stuck with them, not even bothering to check if they were right. Minato and Kushina hadn't even cared enough to simply sit and _talk_ with their _son_!

They've thought he could take care of himself, and that he could come and talk to them about something that had bothered him! These two self-assured arrogant bastards have completely ignored the fact that Naruto was _just a child,_ their own _fucking child_ that needed his parents to teach and explain things to him. Every child needs to know that his parents love and care for them, not through just knowing that they are allowed to make their own decision, but through them reminding the child that they are at his side. Children need their parents to correct and help them when they fail, and praise and indorse them when they achieve success. This is the main principal of being a parent: raising your child with attention and care, being there with them and for them.

Kushina and Minato had forgotten this core principal with Naruto, and now Aika was going to make sure that Kushina regretted ever doing this.

Aika walked to Kushina, who had spit blood out of her mouth and looked at the whitenette, showing to Aika her broken and bleeding nose, with swelling around her right eye and bloodied mouth. Without any warning, Aika picked Kushina up by her red long hair with her left hand and spoke up to her.

"You fucking bitch, you don't even deserve to be called a woman, much less a mother! Not only did you toss Naruto aside because of your own dumb arrogance, but you have the gall to act like you had done nothing wrong?!" Aika raised her right fist and prepared to send it in Kushina's face. "I watched how you and Minato had killed that little sweet boy with your arrogance, leaving in his stead a bitter, resented and lonely shell of that boy. And now, I'll make you fucking pay for this!" Aika was about to send her fist into Kushina, until she was stopped by someone she didn't want to see right now.

"Aika, what the hell do you think you are doing?!" Tsunade Senju shouted at her college, holding her hand away from smashing Kushina's face. "Let Kushina go! Whatever the problem you have with her, you can take it up with her and Lord Hokage _away_ from here, not free her before I fire you!"

"Oh, I _intend_ to take it up with Minato as well, but not before I enlighten this worthless piece of shit on what she has done to her son!" Aika struggled to get out of the grip of Tsunade, while Kushina was starting to regain her strength, but not until she was smashed into a wall by Aika, instead of punching.

"So all of this is about that talentless and angsty little boy? Aika, that boy is nothing but waste of time, effort and he doesn't even deserve to be a Shinobi, especially with that attitude of his. And you are beating his mother because of _him_?" Tsunade honestly sounded shocked at the realization of Aika's reasoning. "Unhand Kushina and apologize to her, before I do something we both will regret."

"And how about you let go of my arm, Tsunade, before _I_ do something we both regret, because at this moment, I wouldn't mind teaching _you_ some of the parental lessons myself!" Aika snarled at Tsunade, who seemed to take it as challenge.

"Oh, and what makes you think you can go toe to toe with me, _girly_?" Tsunade arrogantly said to Aika, who decided to toss Kushina onto a floor and has shifted her attention on Tsunade. "Think just because you've learned a thing or two about medical Ninjutsu, you can challenge the woman that _invented_ it? And all because of the one pitiful boy that barely even seems to be an Uzumaki everyone's eyes?"

"Did you know, that it's because of that mouth and big head of yours Mito never had taught you what she and Hashirama knew about Iryo Ninjutsu? You never invented it, only popularized it, while I had studied for most of my young life in this field under one of two _real_ inventors of the modern medicine." Aika wasn't fazed by the boast of Tsunade. "And Mito had taught me _not_ just how to reattach broken limbs, but also how to best hurt people, making them experience so much pain, that they go mad and die from shock. Want me to show you a couple of lessons in it, old hag?" Aika could clearly see how Tsunade's face morphed into one of utter rage and fury, as she was ready to kill Aika right here and now.

"That's it, I'll fucking murder you right here!" Tsunade was about to throw the first punch, before she and everyone in the hallway had found themselves unable to move. "What in the fucking…"

"You know, I've always believed that while doctors all preach about peace and quiet in their hospitals, deep down, they simply want to let loose and cause the most damage possible. Turns out, I'm not all that far away from truth." Shingen Uzumaki came into the view of the trio, with a small barrier field appearing above them. "Now, Aika, while I always find this fiery and feisty side of yours quite seducing, care to share, what had happened to anger you so much, before you go and destroy this facility?"

"Shingen, release this damn Paralyzing Barrier of yours, or I'll have Minato…" Kushina had tried to speak up, but was interrupted by Shingen.

"All in due time, Kushina, and I wasn't asking you, so why don't you practice foreplay for your dear husband while I'm talking with my wife, because from this position, that is the only thing you can do." Shingen didn't miss a beat or even shifted his tone while saying it all, before turning to Aika, and releasing her alone with a hand sign. "Now, Aika, what has happened here? I'll take a wild guess and assume that it has something to do with our last night's guest?"

"You it sure as hell does, as this… this piece of shit has barged in, proceeded to insult and accuse us with Akemi in _"corrupting_ " Naruto, while completely denying her own fault in everything! She went as far as to call Akemi a sow, and said that _we_ are the reason Naruto is like he is!" Aika looked at her husband, who narrowed his eyes on Kushina for a moment, a flash of past rage visible in his eyes for a second. "Shingen, she and Minato didn't even _attempt_ to reconnect with Naruto. Worst, they've _assumed_ that he could take care of himself and would come to them if he was bothered by something. And in the end, they thought _and believed_ that he is the way he is because he got into _a bad company_! They've used it even as an excuse to disinherit him!"

"I can't take this anymore, Shin. I had hoped, prayed, _believed_ even that these two can change and fix everything, but after what _she_ said… Please, Shin, we need to get Naruto away from those two ASAP, or else…" Aika had been practically breaking apart at the possible prospect of being forced to watch Naruto suffer any more because of his parents. "You've got the connections and friendship of the Royal Court, can't you arrange to…"

"I've already made the call this morning after you've left." Shingen suddenly stated to Aika and everyone, shocking them. "After today, Naruto will be a Genin and while he can't be an adult until he is 15, thanks to your husband's new laws. But in a few days, I'll have the official order, removing the parenting rights from Minato and you, Kushina, on Naruto, and placing him under my patronage and fostering." Kushina looked at Shingen with clear shock, as did Tsunade and Aika.

"B-But it would take tons of material for such an order to even be considered, much less compiled! You have no such influence on the court of Daimyo! You must be bluffing!" Tsunade shouted at him in disbelief.

"But the court has, by now, literal tons of material to give this case the green light. I've been compiling it for the last four years, ever since I've smelled that our illustrious Hokage and… foreplaying Princess have become complacent in their duties towards Naruto." Shingen informed them both. "Forth Hokage or not, but not even he can't overrule the Daimyo's direct decree. And I most certainly assure you, that the order has his personal seal on it already. Now, Aika, let's get going, because these two aren't worthy of ruining your beautiful hands with all this brawling. I'll be sure to compensate the repair fee, so you just send me the check." Aika allowed Shingen to lead her out of here.

"Shingen! Minato and I will not let you and your bitch here get away with this! Naruto is _our_ son, and we will have him, no matter what! When Minato and Council hears of this, they…" Kushina continued to threaten him, until he turned to her.

"Oh, but I _do_ want them to hear of this, Kushina, so do me a favor and inform them of this. And while you are at it, remind Minato, that if decides to make any move against my family or Naruto, and then I'll stop turning the blind eye on the little scheme he has been orchestrating for the last 9 years or so." Shingen could clearly see that Kushina understood him and what he meant.

"He may be the shadow of leafs that baths in the light of sun, but I'm the light that shines through the roots of this great tree, quietly and patiently making sure that the base of tree does not forget the light. And in case the shadow becomes blinded by the high sun, then it may need be time for it to look down and see, that he still baths only thanks to the light below him, one that warms the roots and the trunk the tree." Shingen cryptically stated to Kushina and Tsunade. "The Third Hokage may've been more of a light itself, with Danzo as his shadow in roots of Konoha, but to Minato's shadow, I'm the light that is seen through roots. Remind him of it, Kushina, and of the fact that he himself once wanted me to be one for Konoha."

And with this message being left behind, as well as the main next news, Shingen and Aika had left the hall, with his Fuinjutsu barrier dispelling soon afterwards. Tsunade decided to heal up Kushina, who by now had stopped caring about the damage that Aika had managed to do to her. All of her thoughts were completely preoccupied with the fact that she and Minato now were to completely lose Naruto to Shingen and Aika. Now there was no doubt in her mind that Shingen has been behind what had happened to Naruto, with his shift in attitude and everything else. It was clear to Kushina that if she were to allow Shingen have his way with Naruto, she and Minato will completely lose their son.

And she was not going to allow her old rival to have him, not while Naruto was of her blood, as no one steals from Kushina what is rightfully her.

* * *

 **Training field 7. In the meantime.**

Naruto, along with his companions, was currently threading towards the training field 7, as they had been directed there by Iruka, after he had handed down them their headbands. The exam was nothing short of a joke, with all five of them out performing it with ease and receiving their headbands, as well as their designation into Squad 5, or Team 5, a 5-men cell, overseen and trained by a Jonin and Special Jonin. None were surprised with this turn of events, but what did surprise them was the fact of their trainers already being chosen for them, who awaited them at the training field 7.

Naruto, along with Rei and Keiji, had really hoped that they would receive a decent Jonin sensei, with experience in teaching and without any kinks and quarks about him. Hopefully the Special Jonin would also be the same kind. Unfortunately, their hopes, along with the small hopes of Hiryu and Akemi, for an expert Jonin trainer and a professional Special Jonin assistant, were ruined, when they saw that in the clearing stood a very distinctive silver-haired masked Jonin Shinobi, and at his left stood a purple-haired girl, wearing an open trench coat with a mesh underneath, leaving nothing to the imagination.

It was at this moment, when they saw Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi waiting for them, newly-formed Team 5 knew, they were fucked up.

"Oh fuck me running!" Exclaimed all of males in the team, with Rei adding up, while Akemi kept her mouth closed.

* * *

 **Yup, Minato decided to figuratively, and quite possibly literally, fuck them up… I am not a fan of Kakashi, but I don't really dislike him, just like with Kushina and Minato. I just very much like make likable characters unlikable, and the same with unlikable. Kinda my little shtick since my very first fanfic back in the day…**

 **Anyway, as some of you may've guessed, I've based the Uchiha twins from another pair of twins I rather like, Raven and Qrow Branwen, although Keiji doesn't have Qrow's scythe-sword harbinger, operating twin smaller scythes, like Death from Darksiders II. They are not fans of Hokage, or Kakashi Hatake for that matter. And much to everyone's misfortune, it's the latter who's their current Jonin sensei, with Anko Mitarashi as his assistant.**

 **Also, just to clear a little air, Naruto is 12 years old, his twins are 9, so by the time they graduate, he and his Team 5 will be 15 years of old, legal adults in this story. And yeah, I did change the laws a little bit, a minor, but important detail. Oh, due to their Uzumaki genes, Team 5 looks not like 12 year olds, but close to 16 years old, thanks to enhanced physical capabilities of Uzumaki, training with Chakra and physical exercise.**

 **Aika may be a civilian doctor, but you don't go around angering the adopted daughter of Mito Uzumaki and a happily married wife of the strongest Uzumaki on this side of the known world. She is currently in the league nearest to Tsunade and Kushina, and while she may lose in combative experience to them, but in terms of sheer power and absolutely extensive knowledge of physical capabilities of bodies, she can give both of them a run for their money. And she also has a very strongly developed maternal instinct, hence her reaction to Kushina.**

 **As for what Shingen has told to Kushina… Well, I believe you can guess what he meant.**

 **Also, I am also debating about the romantic part of this story, the part about monogamy. Now, I know that there is a literal tone of fanfics with harems, but here… I still feel conflicted and I need to think things through with this story for now, but I would very much like to ask for your opinion on this matter. Also, the harem part is not just about Naruto, but is also about Hiryu and Keiji, so do leave your opinion.**

 **Oh, and Naruto Path of Shinobi is the one getting the update on this week, so stay tuned up.**

 **See ya!**

 **PS! Had added up a little bit of extra dialogue between the now fresh Genin, sorry for the short take out.**


	5. Chapter 5

"That wasn't exactly the proper way to greet your teachers, now was it?" Kakashi gave one of his infamous eye smiles to the young Genin. "Especially considering that all of you here are such close friends with me, especially you, Rei, Keiji. Shouldn't you show a little more respect to your father?"

"Our real Dad is dead, and you know it, you stuck-up bastard. And if you ever once speak of yourself like that to me and Keiji, I'll bloody make sure you won't be able to have any children of your own." Rei growled, as she gripped with her left hand the handle of katana. "The only _good_ thing that we had to do with you was finally leaving you and your damn slump of house."

"Wow, the ravennette here has quite a mouth on here. I think I'll be taking a liking towards you. Hiryu, Akemi, am I glad to see my two favorite Uzumaki siblings!" Anko grinned as she suddenly noticed Naruto among them. "Yo Naruto! Finally have had enough of the brats and have decided to move up in rank? Congrats with the promotion and lovin' the new threads, by the way. Really makes you look like a booty magnet if you ask me." Keiji outright laughed at this one.

"Thanks, Anko. Glad that you approve." Naruto nodded to her, seeing curious looks on Hiryu and Akemi. "Is something the matter?"

"We are just a little surprised that you know Anko, that's all." Hiryu answered on his question. "Plus, unlike with others, you seem to be… okay with her, no offence."

"Heh, Naruto and I have known each other for quite a while, for about 4 years by now." Anko informed them all. "He often hangs out on a training field next to Forest of Death, training himself. I drop by from time to time, or let him hang out in my place when he asked for the additional survival training, but to be honest, I think he just wanted to spend more time with little lovely old me~." Anko winked to Naruto, with Akemi blushing at the thoughts.

"Whatever makes you feel better." Naruto simply replied to her, before turning to his group. "Forest of Death is a good place to get your skills in top shape, plus it's quite a nice place for me, considering the circumstances. And what about you two?" Naruto looked at Hiryu and Akemi, with Akemi answering.

"Well, Anko is a close friend of Mom and Dad and has been the one training me in usage and creation of poisons from snakes and antidotes for them." Akemi replied. "For as long as I can remember, she was always something of a surrogate cousin or even a big sister figure to me and Hiryu."

"Aw~, Akemi, you make me blush." Anko said with playful smile. "Well anyway, it looks like Cyclops here and I will be in charge of your little Squad, so if I were you, I would be prepping your graduated butts for _the real_ training from the sexiest and most popular Shinobi in this Village."

"Thanks, Anko. I'm glad that you think of me in that way." Kakashi replied to her, with Anko shooting him a glare.

"She meant "sexiest", not "sexist", pervert. And you are the last person I would consider as the people's choice in popularity contest." Naruto replied in a blunt manner to Kakashi, with Keiji and Anko openly laughing at it, while Hiryu and Rei let out a short chuckle. "Anko is at least a nice sight for eyes. You, on the other hand… Make me want to smash that masked face of yours _really_ hard."

"Same with me and my sis here." Keiji second, with Rei nodding to it. "What the heck was Hokage smocking when he decided to put you in charge of us, anyway? I gonna' take a wild guess that it's weed, since he's always such a stoned supporter of the Will of Fire, friendship, ponies and all the other toxic stuff…"

"Keiji, you'll watch your mouth, or I'll make sure that you and Rei are dropped out of the Shinobi program." Kakashi suddenly threatened him, with Keiji shutting up, but returning the glare. "Lord Fourth has personally made sure that you two had everything you needed after your father's betrayal. You should show him far more respect than that."

"The day I show that guy anymore respect then that will be the day when Hell freezes over." Rei stated with a scowl, with Keiji agreeing with her. "All he did was take away from us the only parent we had left, placed us under _you_ and practically made us into pariahs of this damned Village, all because you've had to place the blame for _your_ flop on someone…"

"Yeah, the only _good_ thing he did for us, Kakashi, was finally agreeing to transfer guardianship over us to Shingen, the guy that has _really_ helped us." Keiji folded his arms, casting a small glance to Hiryu and Akemi. "The only thing that this guy had accomplished with us was making our lives miserable, starting with fabricating the treason of our dad."

"Rei, Keiji, we've told you a hundred times, that your father had assisted the Kumo infiltrator and had plotted to…" Kakashi, unfazed, was begging to explain how it all went down, before Anko had stopped him.

"Look, I know that all of us here have unresolved issues, and you kids have every right to be livid on our fanboy here all you want." Anko decided that it was time to play the negotiator. "But like it or not, but it was decided that he and I get to test and, if you pass the test, train you. We can all stand here and tell who got wronged by whom till the Kingdom Come, or we can get on with the test and if you pass, then the faster you five can get promoted to Chunin and say bye-bye to him. Does that sound good for you?"

The Genin group didn't say a thing for a few moments, exchanging glances between each other. Rei and Keiji had quite a few things to say to Kakashi and they weren't really all too happy with how they got placed in one Squad with him. However, it was either that, or being stuck in the Reserve Corp, waiting for some other team to pick them up, if they had a free spot, along with being unable to even complete basic D-ranks, not to mention C-ranks.

There was a reason why most Genins that were sent into the Reserve Corp had dropped out of Shinobi ranks all together, since most Jonins in Village didn't take individual apprentices, and Genin teams rarely suffered casualties among themselves. In other words, if you were sent into the Reserve Corp, you can already sign your retirement papers and get on with your civilian life. The only thing worse than that was being sent back into the Academy, a fate that had occurred more than often for starting Genin in this Village.

Even though the Team was stuck with one of the worst possible teachers of themselves, they had to agree to this. At the very least, they had Anko along with them, so maybe she would be able to do a good job in teaching and training them. Naruto, who had been observing quite a number of Shinobi for his own training, knew for the fact that while Kakashi always preached of teamwork and its importance, he had no idea of how to train Genins and how to even properly test them. He saw how had tested the previous Teams of Genins, forcing them to fight him over the bells and expecting that they'll know what really was being tested and what was really required from them.

He knew that it was teamwork that he wanted to see from them, but the problem was not in the fact that they couldn't perform it. No, it was in the fact that prior to their test, there wasn't even a single exercise in Academy or a lesson in its importance in the field. In Academy, with the system based around personal achievements, individual work and achievements were far more valued over the group effort, which was none existent. In other words, students were literally being taught to be competitive with each other over being cooperative. After all, why would the title of Rookie of the Year was introduced?

Shacking off his thoughts, Naruto along with others simply nodded, agreeing with Anko, who smiled to them and spoke up.

"Alright, boys and girls, since we've been here long enough, we'll skip the introductions and get right on with the good stuff." Anko smiled to them, as she took out of her pocket four bells and showed them to the Genins. "These bells are what you five will need to get from us. We'll split them among us, so you'll need to get two from both me and Kakashi. Each bell means that one of you gets to be the real Genin, so make sure you get them, since the one that doesn't, will be sent back into the Academy. You've got three hours to complete this test, and you are allowed to use any means necessary, including lethal force. In fact, unless you come at us with the full intent to kill, you'll lose."

"Um, I am sorry to interrupt, but why are there four bells when the traditional Squad is made up of five Genins?" Akemi asked, noticing the quantity of bells. "Are you trying to put us against each other?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. It's just like with the Academy tests: there are those that pass and get good marks, and those that lose and get bad marks." Kakashi eye-smiled to them again, with Keiji and Rei already noticing that he was not truthful. "And since there's not enough bells for all of you, one of you is getting his bad mark and goes back to Academy. That allows us to… weed out those that aren't ready for this, or aren't good enough for being a Genin." Naruto's eye twitched, as he clenched his fist at this remark. "Though, in my eyes, you all looks quite unprepared and mediocre, at best, as Genins…"

"That's enough of your preaching, Kakashi." Anko stated to him, getting a glance from him. "Anyway, brats, the test starts now, so get on with it!" And as Anko has said it, the Genins immediately disappeared from their sight, hiding away, while she handed to him his pair of bells.

"You know, since I'm the Jonin Instructor of this group, it falls to me to explain those things to them. You are here only as my assistant, Anko, and if I need assistance from you, I'll be sure ask you about it. Do please remember it and try not to sabotage my authority over my Genins." Kakashi casually asked of Anko, as he took out his favorite orange book. "It makes me look bad in their eyes, and in the eyes of Lord Fourth and others."

"Like you care about their opinion, Kakashi." Anko scoffed at him. "If you did care, you would've noticed that they don't really give a damn about this "authority" of yours, and I'm not all that surprised. Especially considering that everyone among them, save for Akemi, has a chip on their shoulders because of you and your revered Fourth Hokage."

"Oh, and what those chips you are talking about may be, Anko?" Kakashi asked, not really caring about it.

"As if you don't know about them…" Anko rolled her eyes. "Well, the twins understandably are pissed at you because of how you basically didn't really take care of them, after you've been tasked by the man that killed their father and caused the death of their mother. Hiryu's beef with you and Lord Fourth is in how you two have nearly caused Akemi's death 5 years ago, when that infiltrator from Iwa had taken kidnapped and escaped the Village, after his failed attempt to kidnap one of the Jinchuuriki. If I recall, Lord Fourth hadn't even send a task group to retrieve the girl, while you even said that she wasn't all that important…" Anko's voice grew colder at this one

"Well, when compared to the life of Narumi, Akemi's wasn't nearly as important." Kakashi missed the deathly glare from Anko. "And we did retrieve the girl in the end."

"Yeah, near two weeks she had to spend in Iwagakure's "care", and don't even make it sound like it was Konoha that saved her." Anko growled at him. "Had it not been for Shingen personally going to Iwa and nearly killing the Third Tsuchikage, Akemi would've been lost. And all the while you and Lord Fourth sat on your asses and did nothing to save the poor girl, while those assholes were breaking the girl and planning on breeding her with all those bastards when she grows up. Care to tell me, why the hell didn't your favorite Hokage do anything to save here, hm?"

"Well, we had to maintain peaceful relations with Iwa, and breaking our peace treaty with them over one girl, wasn't really worth it. What Shingen had done nearly cost us such a hard fought peace, and all for a virtually not important girl." Kakashi simply said to Anko, who nearly blanched from this statement. "Had that infiltrator succeeded in his deed in kidnapping one of Lord Hokage's children, we would've responded with full force, as he had told me, but since he failed…"

"And just because it was the daughter of one of the main political rivals of Hokage, it wasn't worth the effort of retaliating with force?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Anko nearly shouted at the insensitiveness and indifference of Kakashi. "You know, sometimes I'm starting to understand why Orochimaru would want to put his village to the torch"

"Such words can be easily interpreted as statements of a traitor, Anko…" Kakashi warned her. "And you know how Konoha deals with traitors." Anko casted him one last glare, before deciding to wait for the Genins to come at them.

* * *

 **Meanwhile.**

Just as the test officially kicked off, Team 5 leapt towards the tree line and out of sight of their Instructors. Fortunately enough for them, they hadn't split up too far away from each other and were still in a relative proximity. After a minute or two, Team 5 was back together and knelt in the hidden clearing, hiding behind the bushes, deciding to discuss what to do.

"Please tell me that I'm not the only who had noticed him bullshitting back then about the bells and scores?" Rei asked of her team, with the entire team positively answering her. "Oh, thank Kami. Akemi's right, he wants each of us to work on our own."

"Yeah, makes sure that we don't try to gang up on them." Keiji supported Rei's line of thinking. "That ass had always preached to us about the value of friendship and teamwork over individual actions, and now he wants us to come at him like we are a bunch of idiots? Something about this damn bell test doesn't sound right."

"Because the bells don't mean a damn in this test." Naruto simply stated to him, getting the universal attention from his team. "This whole test isn't about getting the bells, but about being able to work together as a team. I've seen how he has been failing every team over this aspect, but before that making sure that the tested Genin thought that all that mattered was getting the bells. Other Jonin I saw gave out a hint or two about how to get the test completed, but he doesn't."

"Naruto is right." Hiryu agreed with him. "Konoha's main doctrine is based around coordinated and coherent teamwork, not individual and lackluster actions of single Shinobi. Looks like we'll have to show them that we can together as a Squad."

"And how exactly do you propose we do that, hm?" Rei asked of Hiryu. "No offence to you three, but I'm really the trusting type, and I only prefer to either work alone, or with this idiot." She pointed at Keiji, who let out a sigh.

"Besides, not all of us know how to act in a group and in a coherent way." Rei pointed out to Hiryu. "I know how you and Akemi may fight, Hiryu, and I can go full combo with Keiji, but I know jack about how Naruto fights and what he can even do."

"She's right, and I don't know exactly what _anyone_ of you really can do." Naruto backed Rei. "But if we want to pass this test, we'll probably need to learn how each of us prefers to fight. I'm best in close and mid-range, prefer to go full frontal assault, overpowering, knocking out or outliving my opponents. I can do Fire and Lightning Jutsu, about fifteen in Fire and five in Lightning, all in close or mid-ranges. Genjutsu is not my forte, but I can place a couple of C and D-ranks, but nothing too major. And as for claymore, I thing I know the basics, but nothing too fancy." Hiryu looked like he was thinking over about this entire thing, until he began talking.

"In other words, you are a power type, focused on strength and endurance over precision and speed. Is that right?" Naruto nodded to Hiryu. "I think I've got an idea on how to impress our examiners…"

* * *

 **Fifteen minutes later.**

Kakashi and Anko hadn't said a word to each other, instead continuing to await their Genins' attack on them. It has been some time since they had seen them and both were starting to wonder if they had given up and were simply stalling, or were they planning something up for them. Anko, knowing Shingen's kids well enough, as well as knowing Naruto, knew that something was coming and recalling that Hiryu had always been one with a tactical and strategically oriented look on things, couldn't help but ponder at what he could come up with such a ragtag team. She had a feeling that the Uchiha twins weren't going to back off either, so this was going to be one interesting test to say the least.

As for Kakashi, he wasn't all that worried about this new Squad 5 that Lord Hokage had ordered him to test out. To him, it was pretty much clear that they didn't exactly have what it took to being good Shinobi, or a Team for the matter. After all, in Kakashi's eye, they were just a bunch of misfits and outsiders for the villages, all of whom had the potential for becoming dissidents, and one of them was already an infamous troublemaker.

Being the favorite and best student of Lord Fourth, Kakashi knew very well that Naruto was nothing like his great father or mother, and it was clear to everyone that there was nothing that made him worthy of the legacy of their great Clans. After all, for what other reason would he be denied of his rights as an Heir of Uzumaki and Namikaze? It was pretty obvious, that Naruto simply lacked what it took to be an Uzumaki and a Namikaze. The best he could've done was abide by his parents decision and go along with their judgment, but instead, Naruto had decided to rebel and show off his rebellious nature, becoming a shame and an eyesore for this Village.

Just like with Rei and Keiji, the two kids of a traitorous Uchiha member and an Uzumaki woman that gave up her life for the Village and Hokage. It was a shame that their father was found guilty of cooperating with Kumo. One would think that after witnessing the great sacrifice his wife had done to save this Village, by using Shiki Fuin and sealing Kyuubi in to Hokage's children, he would be honored, that his wife had sacrificed herself for the good of this Village.

Unfortunately, the man didn't learn what true Will of Fire is about, and instead chose betrayal, leaving his children in Kakashi's care for a couple of months. He was nice and kind to them, but they didn't appreciate it one bit, especially when he had tried to make them understand why the death of their father was justified. Too bad that they never understood it, and that Shingen Uzumaki had suddenly intervened and took the twins under his wing. A shame, in Kakashi's opinion, as he believed that he could've made those two into better people than their father and mother.

Just as Kakashi was turning a new page in his book, Anko noticed that the bushes the edge of the clearing shook a little. In the next second, right out of there jumped out Akemi, surprising both Kakashi and Anko with her appearance. The girl looked determined and ready, with Anko noting out.

"So, decided to take a more direct approach?" Anko asked of her, wearing her usual grin on the outside, and getting ready on the inside. "I would've thought that one of the boys would make the first move, but you… I'll say that I'm kinda surprised, Ake-chan."

"Well, that's the whole idea." Akemi smiled to her, before she began to rapidly form hand signs. "Earth Style: Mud Torrent!" And in the next second, right from beneath Akemi eyes, a torrent of mud formed and went right towards the two Jonin at a dangerous speed.

Anko and Kakashi had no trouble evading the torrent and not get stuck in it, splitting up and letting the torrent pass right in between them. Kakashi didn't even drop reading his book, though he was surprised a little that a Genin already could use an Elemental Jutsu like that, but he simply let it slide, thinking that it must've been the result of her training. Anko wasn't all that surprised that Akemi was capable of using Elemental Jutsu, knowing full well that Akemi was able to utilize Water and Earth. What did surprise and concern her was the fact that it was Akemi that attacked first. She knew that the girl never was one for the frontal attacks, preferring to stay behind and support or heal. It would've been normal if Hiryu had opened up, or Naruto, but not Akemi, so what was…

Unfortunately for Anko and Kakashi, just as they've evaded the Mud Torrent, a large wall of dirt and stone formed in between them, separating them from each other. Kakashi, being still full on confident, didn't see much of a point in doing it, while Anko was starting to suspect that Akemi was trying to separate her and Kakashi, which was something smart for a Genin to do. But she would need to follow this up quickly with something…

'Split us up… Divide and conquer. Hiryu must've already put together a plan and this is the first step.' Anko thought to herself with haste, until she noticed that there was something blocking the sky for her. 'What the hell…'

Anko and Kakashi turned their eyes to look at what was the cause of small eclipse, noticing a figure in the middle of a jump, but unable to see clearly who it was from the sun blinding them. However, they were able to see that it had sent in their directions five kunai, two right towards Anko and three towards Kakashi, with the last one for Kakashi being sent with a small interval from the other two, which were sent at the same time. Anko and Kakashi had little effort in evading the incoming projectiles, with Anko, and Kakashi, not to her knowledge, simply moving away from the trajectory of them. Deciding to take a glancing look at them, Anko saw, that one of the kunai had a sealing tag attached to it.

'A timed explosive tag!' Her eyes widened, as she readied to move out of range, but then she had nearly lost her head, if not for her instinctive duck right

Anko now could see that the second attacker was Rei, as she had landed near her, with her Sharingan already blazing, revealing fully developed visual prowess of Uchiha Clan. Rei was aiming to take Anko from a slash above with her katana, as Anko had thought, but she failed. Although, Anko was honestly pretty impressed with this little maneuver that Rei had pulled off with Akemi: split her and Kakashi apart, separate and distract them by kunai with explosives, while launching an attack. Anko had suspected that the boys were focusing up on Kakashi, while Akemi and Rei could take her on.

Rei noticed her missed and moved her blade to angle and sending it to her left, trying to strike Anko, who had jumped away from Rei. However, this is where Anko's luck had ran short, as the explosive tag had activated itself, releasing compressed thick smokescreen, covering at least twelve meters around them. Anko had lost the sight of Rei, as well as cursed herself for forgetting about the tag. Right at the moment when she had prepared to jump out of the place, she found her feet stuck in swamp, before someone had struck the back of her head, knocking her right out of the fight.

As for Kakashi, he didn't even bother to put away his book, simply moving away from the two incoming kunai. He could see that the attacker had wanted to distract him with it, but he already saw through it, and he was preparing to move away from the third incoming projectile. After that, he would go look for the other missing Genin, as well as take care of the attacker and Akemi, and teach them what a real Shinobi would do.

However, he would have to cut his plans short, as the third kunai had suddenly transformed into Naruto, falling right towards Kakashi, with both his arms gripping the large sword above his head. Kakashi had widened his eyes at the sight of his Genin being ready to literally split him in two, and _not_ like in the Make Out Paradise way! He had already prepared to evade Naruto by moving to the side, when the thick smock covered the area, completely covering cutting off any visual contact. The only things that anyone could make out of the mess there was the sound of a slashed flesh, and the sound of a splitting wood.

In the few seconds, the smock began to clear out, revealing Naruto standing, with his claymore's blade resting on his right shoulder. The next one to appear was Hiryu, with his straight sword in his right hand, looking around them. At their feet laid the split log of a tree, indicating Kakashi managing to escape from them. Hiryu was the first one to speak up.

"You were right, Naruto: his reflexes _are_ quite attuned. He must've used Kawarimi just the split second before you or I could've cut him." Hiryu concluded, looking at the log, while Naruto took a closer look at Hiryu. "Didn't even leave me a chance to grab his bells, or to cut him…"

"I wouldn't be so sure, if I were you, Hiryu. Look at your blade." Hiryu took a look at his chokuto, noticing a large blood stain on it. "He wasn't expecting you, and you've been able to cut him before he used the Kawarimi. From the looks of it, I'd say you've cut one of his blood vessels. Where were you aiming at?"

"His left leg, which means that he'll have a hard time moving around, as well as will leave us a trail to follow." Hiryu followed Naruto's observation, as he noticed that Keiji and Rei had jumped right to them. "How did it go with Anko?"

"Went as smooth as woman's touch." Keiji revealed the two bells from Anko, before putting them away. "Decided to knock her out, just to be on the safe side of things. And from where I see it, yours didn't go as planned, eh?"

"No, but we did cut him, possibly seriously." Naruto answered, before he had an idea. "Everyone, leap up, now!" Without any more words, Hiryu, Rei and Keiji decided to follow up this demand, and leapt into the air, while Naruto swiftly knelt down, conjuring hand signs. "Lightning Style: Impulse!" In the next second, Naruto sent right through the earth a wide spread electrical pulse, short and powerful enough to dissipate around the close area.

The trio came landed on their feet, looking at Naruto with a curious eye, before he spoke up to them.

"Kakashi has a habit of using Headhunter Jutsu on Genins, remember? I've seen him pull it off every time he tested out a team, and if he was in the ground here, he would've been forced to evade the pulse." Naruto informed them.

"Keiji, Rei, use your Sharingan and survey the area. I can sense that he's still here, somewhere near us and is hiding." Hiryu stated, bringing up his sword into a striking position, while focusing up his sensory abilities. "Either he knows how to block his flow of chakra, or he's hiding somewhere near a large… Akemi, look out!" Hiryu shouted out to his sister, who stood about fifteen meters away from them.

Akemi had heard him loud and clear, but before she could even move from her spot, she found herself being unable to move, with a kunai pressing to her neck. Just the moment when Hiryu called out to her, Kakashi had emerged from the underground and captured the unsuspecting Akemi. He had to give credit to his new batch of Genins, that they were better than the most, having orchestrated such an audacious plan to defeat him and Anko. He would give them points for the creativity, but leaving out a teammate so wide open for an attack was nothing short of a major mistake on their part. Every Team that Kakashi had tested before did the very same mistake, and every time he exploited it. Now was no different, and with this, he would have to teach these Genins how to properly act as a team.

However, the moment Kakashi's kunai touched Akemi's neck, her entire body changed into a water mass, dropping down on earth. The very next moment that had happened, Kakashi had to dodge a barrage of shuriken coming towards him from the woods, with his leaping into the air, with blood spilling out of his wounded thigh. Unfortunately, even in the air there was no saving for him, as he heard his supposed target speaking up, alongside with Rei, all of a sudden.

"Water Style: Water Bullet!" Two large balls of water, sent from the trees, collided with Kakashi, sending him flying right towards the rest of the group.

The four Genin already were on their way to intercept the sent present, with Keiji and Naruto leaping right towards him, with their weapons drawn out and ready for the strike. Naruto was the first one to get to swing his claymore, sending it at an angled rise, hoping to slash Kakashi diagonally, but unfortunately missing and striking another log in half. Fortunately for him, Keiji, with his Sharingan, was able to track and see where did Kakashi moved, even if he remained in relative invisibility.

Bringing his both scythes out, he sent them on a perpendicular course to each other, striking at the area at Naruto's left. When Naruto and Keiji had landed, they could see Kakashi landing on his healthy foot, with two horizontal slashes on his jacket, covering near the entire torso from one side to another. Kakashi winced and nearly tripped when he put his damaged foot down, feeling how the bleeding increased and it was starting to take its toll on him.

He may've underestimated the Genins, heavily, and he may've already considered them as having passed the test _and_ it seemed like they were _literally_ coming at him with a full intent to kill him. None of the other Genins that he had tested had this kind of resolve and determination to see him killed. In the back of his mind, Kakashi even wondered what he could've done to all of them to earn such an ire…

Just as he had landed and despite the weakness in his lower limbs, Kakashi was still able to move away from the attacking Rei, who had tried to use a thrusting attack on him. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't the best course of actions with him, as Kakashi had moved away from the blade and slammed his fist in her face, hoping to deal at least some damage to her. But, much like before, he had again underestimated his opponents, as Rei had suddenly popped out of existence in a white smock.

'Kage Bunshin! Then she must've really been with Akemi all this time, covering her up and…' Kakashi's train of thoughts was stopped, when he saw Hiryu coming right at him at a blazing speed with his chokuto pointed towards him.

Understanding that he had nearly fell into another distraction, Kakashi desperately used all of his remaining strength to leap away from him, nearly crying out of pain when he put more pressure on his wounded leg. Yet even when he had evaded Hiryu's strike, Kakashi was not out of the hot waters, as the real Rei had come at him from behind, leaping towards him and kicking him in the back of his head. Disoriented, Kakashi was unable to see how Rei used the back of his head as platform to jump away from him, while Naruto went rushing right towards him, with his claymore brought down for another slash. Kakashi had managed to stabilize himself enough to see another incoming attack from Naruto, but…

"Wind Style: Wind Bullet!" Hiryu's voice cried out, with an invisible mass of air escaping his mouth and slamming into Kakashi.

The invisible projectile sent Kakashi flying straight towards Naruto, without any means to stop. Naruto adjusted his course of running, and after carefully measuring up the distance, time and length of his blade, used all of his strength and speed to strike at Kakashi. The claymore's blade tore through the flying Kakashi', ripping out his jacket and leaving him a wound on his side, starting to bleed already. Kakashi's flight wasn't deterred by this minor obstacle, nor was Naruto hit by Hiryu's jutsu, as he had carefully took his position for the prior strike.

Kakashi was only saved from his flight when he suddenly slammed into a wall made of earth, and starting to fall down onto the ground. As he had hit the ground with his back, about six kunai with explosive tags had hit the ground near him, surrounding him, but not exploding. At this point Kakashi was completely exhausted and unable to move, as his wounds were already proving to be serious. At this point, he saw the full Squad 5 appear near him, with Keiji speaking up.

"I wouldn't try to move, scarecrow. Those some of my special tags, which are set off when they sense a movement near them. Not all that perfected, yet, but you try and move, and they'll go boom." Keiji stated to him with smirk. "Man, I only wish I had the camera to record it. Did any of you take it with you, by any chance?"

"No, but I think I'll remember this sight for _a long_ time." Naruto said with chuckle, putting his sword behind his back. "Kakashi Hatake, the self-proclaimed best student of Fourth Hokage and one of the most wanted men from Konoha, beaten and bleeding in the dirt. How does it feel, by the way? To be bested by a bunch of "unprepared and mediocre" Genins, huh?"

"Do any of you mind if I take a little souvenir? Say, that infamous Sharingan of his?" Rei took out a kunai and was ready to make her way towards Kakashi, before Hiryu stopped her. "Ugh, Hiryu, that guy had helped kill my mother and father! Don't tell me you wouldn't want to pay him up for what he said about your dad and sister all those years ago?!" Naruto raised an eyebrow at this one, while Akemi stiffened up at the memory.

"We've done enough already, Rei, and as much as I would want, doing any more harm would only give Fourth an excuse to disband this Squad sentence us all to prison." Hiryu sternly said to Rei, who looked quite displeased at this fact, but put down her kunai. "Now we are under Hokage's jurisdiction, and if we maim Kakashi, we'll be charged with treason, test or no test. Besides, once the word gets around that the five of us have managed to nearly kill Kakashi Hatake, it'll be not just a big blow on his pride, but also on pride of Hokage, as this man was his so-called "personal favorite and best" student."

"Hate to admit it, but Hiryu's right." Naruto agreed with him. "At least Hokage will finally have some dirt on his sparkling public image…"

"Oh, I can assure you that he will." The whole Squad turned around to see Anko coming to them, massaging her neck. "Man, did you guys have to hit me that hard? I mean, you could've snatched the bells and that's it, I wouldn't protest or try to take 'em back. By the way, Ake-chan, can you get Kakashi some medical assistance? He may be an asshole, but its best he doesn't die just now." Akemi nodded at this one and went right ahead towards him with her med kit, while Keiji defused with a hand sign his tags.

"Sorry 'bout that, but we've decided not to take any chances." Keiji replied to her, before pointing to Hiryu. "Any complaints, you can take it up with the guy that came up with the plan."

"I see. I've had the feeling that it was you work, Hiryu. Great job." Anko smiled to him. "Still, I've been out for a little while, and mind telling how'd you come up with all of it?"

"Well, I've had my teammates to thank for making it all possible…"

* * *

 **Flashback. 25 minutes before the fight.**

"Our first move will have to be separating them, making sure that they are on their own." Hiryu looked at his sister. "Akemi, can you use your Earth Style to split 'em apart? Like a Mud Wall or something like that?"

"Yeah, I think I can do so." Akemi nodded. "But you do remember that I don't too well alone or in close up fights, right? I could fight for a little bit, but not for long."

"And we'll have to follow up that move of yours, or else we'll be putting Akemi in danger." Keiji pointed out to Hiryu.

"I've already thought about it. Naruto, can you do a Henge into a kunai or shuriken?" Hiryu asked of him, with Naruto nodding to him. "Good. Rei, I want you to make a Shadow Clone, just like I've showed you, and have it leap out of trees the moment Akemi casts her jutsu. Then, I want it to send three us," Hiryu showed to himself, Naruto and Keiji. "Towards Anko and Kakashi, with us in form of kunai."

"Hm, sounds not bad, but I doubt they'll fall for you three transforming back and attacking." Rei argued to Hiryu. "And what would I be doing all this time? Sitting ducks?"

"The point is for us to actually land behind them in kunai forms, and also make sure for Clone to send me first, while Naruto follows behind after a couple of seconds. And as for you, you'll be our reserve and cover for Akemi, if she gets the main attention early on." Hiryu said to her, before explaining everything. "The Clone will then go after Anko, drawing in her attention, while Keiji comes back and strikes from behind. The same will go with us and Kakashi, with Naruto transforming back while in flight and getting his attention. I'll attack once I see that Kakashi's ready to evade. Akemi, will you be able to immobilize both of them at the same time?"

"Sorry, but no. I can only focus up on one of them, so make your choice." Akemi sighed.

"Hm… Naruto, you've watched Kakashi and know how he fights and moves, right? Should we have Akemi stop him, or Anko, in your opinion?" Hiryu asked of him.

"Kakashi may not look like, but he is quite fast and has very attuned reflexes, so he'll evade something like with haste, even under pressure from both of us. It's quite possible that neither you nor I will be able to even hit him before he uses a Kawarimi." Naruto informed them. "Best to take chances with Anko. From what I saw, she isn't particularly fast, not like some of the more dedicated Shinobi, and she relies far more on her specialization in poisons and snakes. Taking her out should be relatively easy with this plan."

"I think I can sweeten this plan a little." Keiji pulled out of his back pouch two kunai with special tags. "Smokescreen tags, with a timer. Charge up enough chakra, and it'll set off after enough time has passed, so be careful with charging. It'll disorientate them, while we'll have an advantage over 'em, since we'll know where they are."

"Good idea. Then Rei and you, with Akemi's help, will take down Anko and get her bells." The trio nodded to this. "Naruto and I'll manage Kakashi, and if he manages to escape, then we'll unite and take him on together. I do hope, though, that we'll at least cut him a little…"

"There's one more thing about Kakashi that we'll best take into account." Naruto spoke up, getting the attention of the group. "After using Kawarimi, he typically prefers to either hide in trees, bushes, or right underground. He especially likes to use the latter, with combination of Headhunter Jutsu, taking out stragglers or those that stand behind the active Genin."

"Eliminating the weak link early on… If that's the case, then he'll come right after Akemi in that case." Rei looked at her. "I think I'll be able to track him with my Sharingan and strike if or when he comes at her."

"If he does come at Akemi, my sensory abilities won't be all that good, since he'll be shielded by large reserves of Akemi." Hiryu said, rubbing his chin, getting a curious eye from Naruto, which white haired man caught. "Sorry, forgot to tell about it."

"No problems, I understand." Naruto nodded, before an idea came to his mind. "Akemi, do you know any of Clone Jutsu?"

"Yeah, Shadow and Water Clone Jutsu." Akemi nodded, before understanding what Naruto meant. "When the smock settles in, I can leave a Clone behind and hide with Rei, and when he comes at me, we'll surprise him, give him no time to react or anything. Strike him with something like a Jutsu, like Water Bullet."

"Sounds neat to me." Rei agreed. "But after that point, assuming that even comes to that, what is our general plan afterwards? You do realize that if even one of the acts goes differently, we'll have to scratch it off?"

"If that does happen… Then I say we'll act together, as a team. We'll go in not one by one, but at least in pairs. When one attacks and draws attention, the other strikes and makes sure he doesn't get away unscathed." Hiryu stated to them. "We keep him moving, constantly focused on what is in front of him, and not what is hidden behind him. Naruto and Keiji will work together, with Naruto drawing his attention and Keiji striking. Rei, her Clone and I will do the same, with her Clone being a main distraction, while Rei and I strike at him. Akemi will assist from range if need arises, give us cover to regroup and get back into action."

"I'm not saying that this plan will work for sure, but what I can say for sure is that right now is our main chance to finally be Genins, actual Shinobi. And all we have to do is beat that asshole, the guy that I'm quite sure has rattled all of us here. He expects us to act as lone children, going at him one by one, and he has seen it done over and over, and each time he took 'em down. I'm not planning on giving him the same pleasure." Hiryu shook his head. "We'll come at him, together, and put our trust in each other. We've got little reason to do so, I know, but… I believe that kicking the living hell out of that masked prick is worth putting aside our differences and showing him something he has been preaching about, yet fails to deliver: teamwork. So, are you ready to kick some major ass?" Hiryu smiled to them, with everyone nodding to him.

* * *

 **End of Flashback.**

"…Although it wasn't the best plan, in my own opinion, it did work out in the end, even if it could use a bit of time and attention." Hiryu explained to Anko how they came up with this plan, with her smiling to him. "And as for this much damage to him… Well, considering that it was considered to be an actual mission and with you telling us to come at you with full killing intent, I'd say that we were simply following the instructions." Keiji and Rei chuckled to that one, with Akemi returning to them.

"I've stopped the bleeding, but he does need medical attention and soon. Hiryu had managed to cut several of blood vessels near his crotch, and I only temporarily stopped the bleeding, while Rei most certainly had caused a concussion to him. There were also two cracked ribs, damaged jaw, but worst is probably Naruto's slash of his side, as it had damaged his kidney, but I've managed to stop the internal bleeding." Akemi reported, giving back to Keiji his kunai with explosives. "You'd be best to hurry, or the wounds will just reopen."

"Will do, and thanks, Ake-chan. And as for all of you, a lot of folks here may not like it and there are those that didn't want to happen, but I'll say this: you've passed this test with flying colors in book." Anko laughed to them heartedly, with the Squad cheering all in their own personal capacity. "I know I ain't the best teacher material, or a team player, and I know that the only reason I agreed to tutor you was so that I could get an early promotion to Jonin. That is the truth for you, but what is also the truth, is that I intend to see all five of you graduate into Chunins, and I'll make sure to teach you lot all that I can, and if there's something you need and I can't provide, then I'll find those that can and make 'em help you, even if the scarecrow here doesn't like it. Does that sound good for you?"

"That's the best deal I've heard in my life." Keiji smiled. "And I think that I'm speaking for everyone here, and I'll say that we are game, all of us and 'till the end."

"Couldn't have said better myself." Hiryu agreed.

"I could, but I'll let the idiot here have his moment." Rei chuckled, with Keiji glancing up a glare to her.

"I think we'll do great together, don't you agree, Naruto?" Akemi turned her head to him, with redhead answering.

"Hm… Yeah, I think." Naruto answered, somewhat reserved, still digesting it all in his mind, catching a concerned look from Rei and Akemi about it all. "Um, sorry, I'm just… Not really used to all of this… Being in groups and stuff."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I think we'll break it all in to you pretty soon. Besides, you could've been doing _a lot_ worse than that, if you had stayed in the Academy." Anko hinted at the twins, with Naruto silently agreeing with her. "Alright, since the mask here will be out of commission for a couple of days, I'll be in charge of your lot. I'm expecting all of you near Hokage's Building at 0800 hours, for our first assignments. While we can, we'll be taking up to three D-ranks a day for four days, and next two will be full on training, with time after mission dedicated to them as well, and the last day is a holiday, to catch your breath. Any questions?"

"Just curious, if you are new to all of this, who helped you to prep it all up?" Hiryu asked of Anko.

"I've asked for pointers a couple years back from your old man. Didn't you know that he also had trained a team of Uzumaki back in the day?" Anko informed them all. "I've once asked him about this whole teaching thing, and he gave me a couple of pointers, as well as lot of good information on this subject. Now, if that is all, you are all free to go wherever you want, just don't get into trouble." Anko dismissed them, while she went to get Kakashi delivered in the hospital.

"Well, this'll be fun. I've got some things to take care, so I guess I'll see you guess 'morrow morning." Rei told them, before walking from the clearing, with Keiji deciding to follow her, waving to the trio.

"I think we'll head back home, tell Dad the good news. You wanna tag along, Naruto? I think our parents will be glad if you visit." Hiryu suggested, with Naruto letting out a small sigh.

"You can go on ahead. I've got some… stuff to take care of and I'll drop by later. I want to ask your Dad a couple of questions." Naruto said, with Hiryu and Akemi nodding to him, before using Shunshin and disappearing from the view, while he walked towards his destination.

* * *

 **Hokage's Residence.**

Fortunately for Naruto, there was nobody home by the time he had gotten there, so he had no problem to get in and start packing his belongings. He didn't take much, only what he had believed were his most needed essentials: scrolls, standard Shinobi equipment, books, notes, custom acquired sealing equipment and money, which he had saved up or, thanks to Henge, managed to earn through one-time jobs throughout the village. He considered taking cloths, but they were all by now too small for him to wear, so left it there. And as for anything that would remind him of his family… He didn't need it, so Naruto didn't even consider taking it with him. He was only glad to leave this part of life behind him at last.

As he was walking downstairs with the bag behind his back, his headband tied on his right arm, he could clearly hear Minato and Kushina talking in guestroom. With his curiosity piqued, Naruto decided to listen to it, carefully positioning himself to hear it, without being noticed.

"Minato, we have to do something! That whore Aika and bastard Shingen have all but ensnarled Naruto, and that white haired sow has even dared to state that it was _our_ fault that Naruto is such a disappointment to us!" Kushina was quite enraged, as Naruto could her hear screams and pacing. "That arrogant damned bitch, who the hell does she think she accuses and even strikes upon?! Minato, I want those two and their brats out of the Village, they are clearly a threat to our children and us!"

"I know and understand what you want and mean, Kushina, but… I can't simply remove Shingen and his family out of Konoha." Minato tried to sound as diplomatic as possible. "I may have the full support of Shinobi Council, but the civilians and Civilian Council are on his side, not to mention that he has the support of Royal Court and Daimyo himself. And even if I were to make him move out of here, I would be literally driving out of Konoha near two thirds of the civilian population, if not all. And that includes _the entire_ economical sector, and if that happens, Konoha will collapse because we literally won't have anything to buy, sell or any resources for the Clans. Plus… Shingen still holds control over the ROOT, or whatever he now calls it."

'Root, what is this thing?' Naruto thought to himself as he listened.

"The only thing right now I can do is make sure that Aika is fired from the Hospital, because of what she had done to you, and I will do so." Minato assured Kushina, with Naruto being curious about it. "Now, as for Naruto, from what my Anbu had reported to me, he didn't even meet Shingen and Aika until yesterday, but it seems to me that Shingen has been eyeing him up for a long time… I'll try to talk to Naruto one more time and try to reason with him, and I'll be sure that he explains himself and his words to you, Kushina."

"Our little boy… Just how could even say those words to me?! Doesn't he understand that he simply isn't as important as twins, and that we still need him for them?" Kushina paced around, with Naruto silently growling at this one. "And yet he continued to get himself into trouble and embarrass us. First it was his absences, then there was that episode with the twins birthday, and then all of those fights. It's like he doesn't even care about the fact that each of those acts reflects badly on our family! Ugh, Naruto is just like my sister, always thinking of themselves as centers of universe and that all should be as they will, and giving no regard about the actions they take!"

'Look who's talking… And I wouldn't mind meeting that sister of hers.' Naruto thought to himself.

"Yes, he does resemble late Akane in a manner of speaking." Minato sighed, agreeing with Kushina, before speaking up. "Look, Kushina, with Naruto and the others being Genins, I'll have far more opportunities to talk him and make him listen. With Kakashi there, he'll make sure to keep an out for Naruto and teach him what he needs to really do, and if Naruto doesn't listen, I can forcefully stop him from entry into Chuunin Exams, so he and his Squad will be stuck as Genins until the twins graduate. By that time, I'll be sure to place him in their Team, so he'll be around to help and support them, as well as protect them."

'That bastard wants me to be in the same team as those two brats… So that I could _protect_ them?! And he would hold me back just because of _that_?!' Naruto was practically boiling with rage at this, and having heard enough stepped out and spoke in the open.

"So that's the real reason you've kept me from graduating, huh? So that I could serve as fucking cannon fodder for those two brats?!" Minato and Kushina were shocked and surprised, to see Naruto with his bag behind his back. "Well you can fucking forget about it. The last thing I would ever want is to help those two brats that you love so much." With that said Naruto turned around and started walking to the exit.

"Naruto, you stop right there!" Kushina and Minato stood right in front of him, standing between him and his freedom. "I have had enough of your idiocy and it is time that you've grown up, Naruto! You _will_ put this bag down, apologize to me, and start being the good son and a good brother you are supposed to be!"

"And what if I don't comply with that? You'll what, put me in jail? I've sat for six months in total in a cell because you two never even cared to investigate _why_ I was put there and what were the circumstances. And besides that, you don't even have the right to put me there at the moment." Naruto looked at Minato, who tried to hold back his scowl towards his son. "I'm a Genin now, and thanks to that, I can move out of here, and you can't stop me from doing just that."

"You are still our son, and as parents, you are still _our_ responsibility, Naruto." Minato argued with him. "Look, I understand that we had not been all that attentive to you, Naruto, but you have to understand that…"

"Attentive?! You've fucking forgotten about me, all because of those two damn brats of yours!" Naruto roared at them, before Kushina openly had slapped Naruto across his cheek, cutting him open his lower lip.

"ENOUGH! I have had enough of your damned arrogance, Naruto!" Kushina shouted right at him, while he growled at her. "We have been patient, _I_ have been patient with your antics and your fucking attitude towards us and your siblings, but that stops now! Either put this back down and apologize to us, or you can leave this house and forget the road to us back, because after that, you won't even have a family name!" Naruto looked surprised at this one.

"Kushina, maybe you are taking this too far…"

"No, Minato! I can see now that he'll not understand it by simple words." Kushina turned back to Naruto. "I have done _everything_ for you, Naruto, and I will not allow you keep tarnishing our honored names of Uzumaki and Namikaze any longer. It's because of your attitude that you will never be like your siblings, Narumi and Menma. You do not understand the responsibility and honor, nor do you seem care about them. Had you cared, you would've abided by our decisions and stop this rebellion of yours, but no… Now this it for you, Naruto: either you start acting like _my_ son, or you won't have any family to talk about. I will disown you, erase your name from Uzumaki Clan and Namikaze Clan, and after that, we'll see how you cope." Kushina glared at Naruto, who turned his eyes towards Minato, waiting what he had to say.

"Naruto… We have given you everything you needed, and still you don't understand that Menma and Narumi are more important than you, and you _know_ why. I may not like it, but if you don't stop this foolishness of yours and start acting like you should, I will have no other alternative other than to exile you from my Clan." Minato said to him, though not as firmly as he had wanted. "You could've been worthy that name before, but now… Now you I am not so sure I want such a son, the one that does everything to embarrass us in front of everyone and don't understand his place in this world."

"I understand it, everything." Naruto said in low tone with a bit somber color to it. "But that doesn't mean that I have to abide by it, nor do I have to _do_ anything just because it paints you in the better color. You know why I've always hated you two, ever since that damned birthday? It wasn't because of the heir thing, not completely, no. Oh no, I hate the two of you because I've spent two years of my fucking life, thinking that I mattered to you, _as son_! I _hoped_ that I could get good enough for you, but you know what I understood back them? I understood that I will never be _good_ enough for you, and only because I wasn't born to carry that damned fox yours, and be treated like some second coming of Sage of Six Paths. You probably don't even care about those two _as your_ children, only as objects of prestige and adoration, that's why they are the ones getting all the attention. And me? Well, I'm just your son, firstborn and not important enough for adoration and respect of people. You two care so fucking much about how everyone praises and respects you, that it disgusts me. You don't need me as a son." Naruto gripped up his bag and moved through them, pushing the two aside.

"And I don't need you two as my parents." Naruto said to them, as he continued moving towards the exit, hearing how Kushina and Minato shouted to him, trying to stop him, but unable to do so.

In the next minute, Naruto opened up the door and took the first step towards his liberation from the life he had before. He knew that those two will carry out their promise about disowning him, but that didn't even bother Naruto at this point. The idea of having no parents had long set in his mind, and he understood that it was true for him, no matter what those two may say. He may've lost his family name officially, but he carried within his blood the pride and honor of Uzumaki, the Clan that he chosen to associate himself with.

Not the Namikaze, that was a random offshoot of some other Clan and were posed by Minato as some great power thanks to him, but the Uzumaki of Uzu, the proud, powerful, honored and great union of clans that had inspired fear and respect in enemies and friends alike. Kushina was nothing like them, nothing like Shingen that deserved, in Naruto's opinion, respect and adoration. And he'll never sink _that_ low just to get some pointless praise and adoration for your posture or position, like Kushina likes.

No, Naruto Uzumaki will walk the path of Uzumaki, and nothing will stop him from doing it now.

* * *

 **Phew, long time no see, over 10K chapter… But you readers deserved it. And now it is official: Squad Five is the real deal and Naruto is kicked out of Uzumaki and Namikaze, but he's an Uzumaki in blood yet.**

 **Now onto the details of this chapter, of which we have several elaborate.**

 **First up, I've seen in many stories that Naruto is always the one coming up with the plans and strategies, like he is the second Shikamaru. Well, here it's Hiryu that is the official tactical and overall leader of the Squad Five, not Naruto. Each of the teammates will and already excels in several areas, and all of them will be vital to the whole success of the Squad, I can assure you of that.**

 **Next up, S5, as I call the Team 5, has managed to defeat Kakashi, one of the more experienced Shinobi, thanks to Hiryu formulating the right strategic plan, based around what he knew his teammates and himself could do, as well as Naruto's information about Kakashi. Kakashi's arrogance and belief in the Genins not being up to his standard greatly helped out. Had this been a serious fight with Kakashi going all out, they wouldn't get off that easy. However, when led right and with a good plan, these 5 can do** ** _a lot_** **of damage. Also, as a side note, I had planned to bash Anko as well in this story, but I simply couldn't do it, so she'll be the one training them up, in whatever she can.**

 **Also, yeah, Kushina had a sister in this story. Go ahead with you theories, I know what you are all thinking, and I'm just gonna let you ponder about it all. Write down in reviews and comments you thoughts and theories about it all, we both know what I'm about, so there is possibility of me pulling** ** _that_** **good old cliché I used too much…**

 **As for Naruto, we all knew it was coming up sooner or later, so I decided not to prolong it. He may've lost the name of Uzumaki, but not the blood. Besides, it's not like he is losing too much.**

 **Oh, and yeah, Shingen is the one running ROOT now, as well as being responsible for nearly killing the old Onoki for what happened to his daughter.**

 **Next chapter will be time skipping a couple of months for the plot progression, just so you know. Now, as for the question with the harems, I still haven't fully decided yet, but if I do decided to make it, they won't be large like I usually did. Only 3 members tops, no more.**

 **Review, comment, favor and follow this and my other Naruto stories, I really appreciate the feedback and it helps me out a lot. PM or post in review your suggestions and questions as well, so I'll be able to answer them.**

 **Till next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Two months since the formation of Squad 5. Hokage Tower.**

Team 5 in full was walking towards the missions' room, in order to report on their 106th completed D-rank mission. Such high number of completed D-rank missions was one of the highest among the Genin Teams and Squads already, and considering that it was all achieved in just little more than 2 months was one feat that no Team could trump. This was achieved in large part due to Squad taking up to 3 missions per day, at times even up to 5, which is on two, and on four respectively, missions more than most Genin teams take.

Usually, it is expected that a Genin team will be taking one or two missions, but hardly three at the same time, but Squad 5 have managed to make it, and they didn't complain about it. In fact, they were only glad to take up this much job as not only were they able to quickly acquire the needed 30 completed D-ranks for to be allowed to do C-ranks, but it also provided the Genins with a good amount of profits. While D-ranks didn't pay all that well, especially when compared to higher ranks, when a team makes 12 D-ranks, or even 18, in just 4 days, they can get the salary of one or two C-ranks, even when they need to split it up among themselves.

Naruto, who walking on the left of the group, could already say that he had enough of money to rent a nice small flat in the Village, not that he was actually planning on doing that. It has been over 2 months now since he had moved out of his parent's house and began to live with Shingen's family, who had welcomed him with open arms. His parents did well on their promises of disowning him, and on the next day already, Naruto was official evicted from both Uzumaki and Namikaze Clans, which didn't surprise him. But what did actually surprise him, was the fact that Shingen had managed to remove the parenting rights on Naruto from his former parents and transfer them to him and Aika, effectively making Hiryu's and Akemi's parents his guardians.

It was shock for Naruto, who didn't expect such thing to ever happen, but it did, and now he was living with a family, that he has now come to not only appreciate for their kindness, but also care deeply. It was a little difficult at first, adjusting his whole life to the new conditions, but Naruto quickly found himself enjoying this new life. He had grown accustomed to family meals, warm and caring atmosphere in the family, casual talk and even enjoyed it all, as Naruto felt himself being a part of a true family, with Shingen and Aika acting as his parents, while Hiryu and Akemi were akin to his siblings.

His bond with all of them was a very strong one, with Shingen having taken Naruto as his full apprentice, teaching him in arts of Uzumaki combat, Sealing, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and everything that he could grasp. The training was hard, brutal even at times, but the results it yielded were all worth it, as Naruto now could use his claymore with ease and speed, along with now able to use Level 6 Sealing Arts, alongside Hiryu and Akemi.

His dexterity and speed have also improved to the point that when he was not with his claymore, Naruto could keep up with Hiryu, if only for a short amount of time. His strength and endurance had reached the point when Naruto was able to take down with the pure brute force Shingen's Shadow Clone with a Jonin-level charge. And along with physical prowess, Shingen had been teaching Naruto a great deal in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and supplemented it all with knowledge on various related subjects, ensuring that Naruto's mind was as sharp as his blade.

Naruto's chakra reserves and control had also were being at their highest point now, being much higher that of Jonin levels, and reaching the level of Aika, who herself was known as one of few Shinobi to possess Kage-level Charka Reserves and Control. She too had taken an interest in training Naruto, alongside with Akemi and Uzumaki siblings. Her lessons were mostly concentrated around Iryo-Ninjutsu, Medicine, First Aid and other supplemented skills for a Shinobi. While Naruto and others were never going to in the same league as Aika and, eventually, Akemi, they now had the necessary skills to apply First Aid or more rudimentary Iryo Jutsu to themselves and to others.

They've had more than enough time to train with both Shingen and Aika, thanks to Anko allowing them to do so on their training days. While she personally, unlike Kakashi, had been taking her responsibilities very seriously as their trainer, teaching whatever she could and keeping them on their toes, she knew that when it came to training, Shingen and his wife were far better in that department. Under their careful watch Team 5 was already shaping up to be one very effective and dangerous fighting force, with every member of it improving a great deal individually, and in work with everyone.

Shingen had worked with each of them apart in the beginning, before making them apply the learned into their teamwork during the combat simulations on training fields. Each of these simulations were with different conditions, targets and more, meant to prepare the team to act in every sort of situation and environment, ranging from recon missions to assassinations of high ranking nobles or Shinobi. These drills had indeed helped Squad 5 greatly improve, working out the kinks out of their teamwork, as well as sharpening their senses. An added bonus was that everyone in the unit now was a good and close friend to each other, with Naruto included, as he had come to regard Team 5 as his closest friends and felt comfortable and easy among them, breaking more and more out of his shell.

While the Team 5 perfected their skills and earned more money under the lazy gaze of Kakashi, things in the village have changed a bit. The first change happened when Aika Azuma was fired by Tsunade, on the orders from Minato, from her job as head doctor. The "official" reason for this action was the decision to balance out the budge by cutting down the personnel of the hospital. Despite a great deal of respect, skill, and experience, Aika was ousted out of her position, with Tsunade not-so-subtly stating that she could have her job back if she apologized to her and Kushina for an earlier accident.

Though Shingen had tried to correct this injustice through political means, Aika decided not to do so, as while she was a doctor, she also had pride, and she was not one to let such an insult to her slide. Instead of trying to winback her position, Aika decided to start her own private practice, as she was still one of the best doctors in the Elemental Nations. Needless to say, she had absolutely no problem with getting the clientele, as civilian population preferred to trust to one doctor that didn't give a damn about the politics. Ultimately, it seemed like Minato's scheming has already backfired, as the situation in the hospital was starting to deteriorate, with Tsunade's poor administrative skills. It wasn't long until they would have to reinstate Aika back.

On more positive note, the relations between Naruto and the Village have actually improved considerably ever since he had left the Hokage estate and family. There wasn't any deep love between the two, but at least now there were far fewer of those that had tried to purposefully aggravate Naruto. That was something that Naruto could consider to be a good improvement, but this wasn't the end of it. The civilian population of Konoha has started to treat him with kindness, seemingly seeing him as one of their own. While this was something new for Naruto, he welcomed the change, and it was now normal for him to hear someone say hi to him while he was on the walk.

The Shinobi population of the Village though preferred to ignore Naruto as if he didn't even exist in most of their eyes, which wasn't all that unwelcomed. He knew that his abandonment of the Namikaze and Uzumaki family names has painted him as an outcast, but Naruto was long used to this status. Of course there were those that had tried their luck at showing off at his expense or the expense of his friends, mainly Akemi, but just one look at him and his entire aggravated Squad usually was enough to send even some cocky Chunins running.

As for the Team 5 itself, they didn't have all that much of problem adjusting to each other and they were soon trusting each other, as well as considering one another close friends. It wasn't nothing strange for Naruto now to be engaged in an idle talk with Keiji or Rei sharing jokes or remarks with them on all kinds of things, or to play chess, an Uzumaki traditional game, with Hiryu, nor was it odd for him to hear his comrades' talk amongst themselves and laugh and more. Anko quickly became a close friends and a sister figure to all of them, taking the main responsibility as their trainer and leader, with all of Genin accepting as it is.

And as for Kakashi, things were just as everyone in the Squad had perceived they would go, as he didn't even take his responsibilities as a teacher seriously enough. He was always late, at least by 3 hours, never even admitting to have underestimated the Genins, nor was going to admit it. His training always revolved around pointless and absolute basic teamwork maneuvers, things that Genins have long passed, and as for the more personalized training, Kakashi simply glosses it over, believing that the teamwork was all they needed it. Overall, he was one of the worst possible choices as a teacher, not helped by him always taking credit for Genins' excellent performance, much to the chagrin of the group as a whole.

Naruto turned away from his thoughts, as he saw that the group had reached the mission's hall, with Minato sitting there and waiting for the Teams and to hand them their missions or rewards. Kakashi admitted the report and accepted the reward for completed mission, with Minato speaking up.

"As always, well done, Team 5." Minato smiled to the entire group, though focusing for a little bit on Naruto. "Your performance on your D-ranks serves as an inspiration for all other Teams and Squads. Such persistent and determined completion of these missions must be the result of your Jonins' exemplary training."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. I'm just following your example and doing my job." Kakashi eye smiled to his former teacher, with Rei, Naruto, Anko and Keiji visibly scoffing at it. "Now, since my cute little Genins are such like ants on caffeine, I believe they can handle one more D-rank."

"Hm, if you say so, Kakashi." Minato looked at the missions' list. "Okay, we have babysitting for a Council member's daughter, helping…"

"With all due respect, Lord Hokage…" Hiryu suddenly spoke up, interrupting Minato and getting the universal attention from everyone in the room.

"Hiryu, you do know that it is a very bad manner to interrupt others while they are speaking, right?" Kakashi reminded to him. "Now, apologize to Lord Hokage and…"

"It's alright, Kakashi. Now, is there something you wanted to say, Hiryu?" Minato was genuinely curious as to what son of his rival had to say to him.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. As I believe you are aware, Squad 5, of which I am a part of, has completed three times the amount of required missions, and it has been a full 2 months since the start of our service." Hiryu reminded to Minato of those facts. "In accordance to law, a Team or Squad that has completed 30 D-ranks and has been active for a full 2 months is allowed access to C-rank missions. I believe I speak for everyone in my Squad in saying that we would like to request a C-rank mission."

"That is true, you have all five of you completed the needed parameters, but such a mission request can't be made by a Genin." Hiryu simply inhaled air in his lungs, as Minato spoke. "Your Jonin Instructor, Kakashi, will decide when it is time for you to take such missions."

"Pardon me, Lord Hokage, but I believe that our record speaks for itself, and I believe that our current _main_ instructor isn't exactly all that on par with his duties." Naruto bluntly stated, looking Minato right in the eye, before turning to glaring Kakashi. "He has on _every_ occasion been late to his duties, never overseen our trainings, nor did he even bother with teaching us some of the more basic techniques, like Shunshin. In his stead, Anko here has been acting as the real instructor to us, and I'm sure that she can vouch for our state of readiness."

"Naruto, those weren't exactly the kinds of word I would expect from you." Kakashi simply stated to him. "You do know that lying to your superior is capital crime, right?"

"Then why aren't you in jail?" Keiji snidely asked of him, with Rei and Hiryu chuckling to it. "All you ever do is read that cheap frog porn and lie down somewhere while we do all the hard work. And the only good thing you taught us was that sloth is a sin, with you as an example of what it leads to."

"If he's reading all of this bad literature, shouldn't he also represent lust?" Akemi innocently asked, with Rei nodding to her.

"She's right. Two out of seven already, and since you are always on that high horse of yours, pride is also up in your alley." Rei added, with Naruto chuckling to it.

"That makes it three." He states.

"Enough of you." Minato stops them, before deciding to turn to Anko, who was simply grinning on the sidelines. "Tokubetsu Jonin Mitarashi, it would seem that there is a bit of a divide in your group on topic of C-rank missions and Kakashi's competence as a Jonin. Do you have something to add to all of this?"

"Only that the Genins here are right on all accounts, sir." Anko sided with her Genins, with Kakashi giving her a look. "Ever since I've been tasked with this group as an assistant instructor, I was the one doing all the work on teaching and training the kids, as well as being the one designing their regimen of mission completion and training, all the while your "star pupil" here has been simply content with just dump all the work on me. If you ask me, Lord Hokage, then these kids are ready not just for C-ranks, but for full B-ranks, if not higher. And if you want proof, then give them the mission and see the results." Minato turned away from Anko and looked at Kakashi and the rest of the team.

"It would seem that most of your Squad isn't very fond of you, Kakashi." Minato noted out to him, before taking out a scroll with C-rank missions. "Or perhaps they are just a bit too eager for their own good and do not understand the need for patience."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Lord Hokage." Kakashi nodded to him, with the whole Squad rolling their eyes at this. "Maybe all they need as a bit more exercise in patience."

"Then perhaps we can satisfy both you and your Squad with this assignment." Minato smiled to them. "One of our outposts on the border with the Land of Rivers is scheduled to have a new personal shift there, but the supposed Chunins are currently on an emergency mission. Your Squad is to go to that outpost and man it until the replacements arrive. The mission is two weeks longs, with the outpost in two days away at a normal civilian pace. It has all the supplies needed to sustain a Squad of your size, and is on a border with a relatively peaceful and stable country, so there shouldn't be any unexpected complications. You leave in tomorrow at dawn, so pack up accordingly. Dismissed, save for Naruto." Minato suddenly stated, with Naruto even looking slightly surprised at this, while his friends turned to him with a questioning looks.

"I'll catch up with you at the shop." Naruto simply said to them, with the rest of the Squad leaving the hall, with him and Minato now being alone. "Is there something you want, Lord Hokage?"

"I was actually hoping that we could talk, Naruto. It has been over two months now, and I wanted to know how you were doing?" Minato spoke up in an uncharacteristically, at least for Naruto, fatherly tone and with a sweet smile, which nearly made the redhead vomit.

"Is there any point to ask this question, Lord Hokage? As far as I am aware, we don't share any relations. Not anymore, that is." Naruto folded his arms in front of him, getting a slightly saddened look from Minato. "I am not your son, not as of two months ago, and your parenting rights with Kushina on me were revoked, so as far as I am concerned, there is nothing, but strictly professional relations. And I don't know about you, but I rather maintain only this level of familiarity between us."

"Despite what Daimyo has decided and what Shingen had plotted, I am still your father and Kushina is you mother, and we _do_ care about your wellbeing." Minato let out a sigh, with Naruto not buying a single word of that. "I know that Kushina and I have said some things that we shouldn't have said, and that we may've overreacted towards your decisions to leave. However, you yourself haven't made it any easier for us, with the way you acted and how your actions have embarrassed us in front of all Konoha, but, after some thought, Kushina and I have decided to forgive you for everything that has happened, and after this mission is over, we would like for you to come home and…"

" _You_ forgive me?" Naruto asked out loud, sounding surprised, before letting a chuckle. "That's rich… Ha, this is actually really funny." Naruto laughed out loud at this, as if he heard a joke, with Minato looking confused at him.

"Naruto, I am serious. We are ready to start over, to rebuild our family, and we want you to be a part of it." Minato said seriously, with Naruto stopping to laugh and speaking seriously.

"And I don't want to have any part in that family of yours. You may forgive me for what I've done to your prestige and public look, because that's what I've only damaged, but it'll be a freezing day in Hell before _I_ forgive you." Naruto simply stated to Minato with a serious expression, not even waiting for a response and going towards the door. "If that is all, Lord Hokage, I'll be taking my leave. My Squad has a mission outside of Village tomorrow, and I want to have a long sleep before we leave." Just as Naruto had reached the door and opened it, he saw outside going inside Kushina Uzumaki, who looked not so surprised to see Naruto.

"Naru-chan! I was hoping that I would catch you here." Kushina smiled to him as if nothing had ever even happened between them, with Naruto simply putting on a poker face. "I see that you aren't with your team, so you should be having a break by now. How about we have lunch together, at Ichiraku's Ramen, just the way you like it? It has been too long and…"

"Nope." Naruto simply said to her, moving past her, before speaking up. "Both to ramen and your little reunion plan. I don't need indigestion from ramen, and another headache from both of you, especially before the mission." Naruto simply stated to her, before taking his leave via Shunshin, while Kushina entered Minato's office and spoke up to him.

"Minato-kun, did you talk to him about taking him back to the family?" Kushina asked of him, with Minato sighing in defeat.

"Right before he left, and he isn't eager to come back, Kushina." Minato simply said to her, with Kushina shaking her head at this one. "From what my Anbu have reported to me, Naruto is very content and even appears to be happy with Shingen's family, not to mention that he hasn't gotten into any trouble with the Police or Shinobi. It's as if he has finally started acting like a son we needed and wanted, only instead of doing this for us, he's doing it for Shingen and Aika."

"Huh, those two must be spoiling him in some way, to get him to act in such way." Kushina stated somewhat arrogantly, shaking her head. "I just know that this is just some kind of scheme of Shingen's. He still hasn't forgiven either of us for and that's just his way to get his revenge on us."

"Even if it is so, there isn't anything we can do to get Naruto back, unless he himself wants back." Minato reminded to Kushina. "Daimyo's edict protects him from any interference from us, and I highly doubt that he will want to spend time with us of his own volition."

"Hm… But what about Menma and Narumi?" Kushina suddenly had an idea, with Minato noticing it. "You've told me that the Academy is undermanned and there is always a need for assistants. Put Naruto's Squad as assistants there, with Naruto being charge of physical education of Menma's and Narumi's class. That way, the three can spend time, and he'll reconnect with them, and I'll make sure that Menma and Narumi try their best with it."

"Yeah, that does sound like a good idea." Minato agreed smiling to her. "It's been a while since the Academy had the needed help, and these five will be able to fill in the ranks. I'll make it a month long C-rank, that way Naruto will have plenty of time with the twins, and once they warm up to him, then he'll be more open to coming back." Minato settled in for this idea, already drawing up plans on how to make Naruto work with the twins and for their own good.

* * *

 **A couple of hours later. Uzumaki-Azuma's residence.**

"…And then he said that they were ready to forgive me for what I had done and welcome back into the family." Naruto told to his foster family, as they sat eating dinner together. "I am a hundred percent sure that he and Kushina had planned it all, since she was already at the door of the office when I was leaving. The way she acted like nothing ever happened, like I was still her son…" Naruto scowled at it.

"Sounds just like Kushina alright." Shingen stated, letting out an irritated sigh. "Whenever someone acted out of her design, she would become the number one… Thing that I am not going to mention with ladies here." Shingen quickly stated, as he saw an overly sweet look of his wife on him, promising all sorts of trouble for his foul mouth.

"That would be quite welcome." Aika said to him with a smile, before continuing on for her husband. "However, when she wanted to get close to someone or wanted to reconnect, she would act like nothing had ever happened and that they were always the closest friends ever, with her acting like she was a paragon of something. If something did happen, though, she would simply twist it all in her favor, especially when she was at fault. At least that was when she had tried to make friends with me."

"You never told me that you were friends with Lady Kushina, mom." Akemi said to her. "Was it when Grandmother Mito was still alive?"

"We never really were friends to begin with, sweetheart. The key word is "tried", and that didn't work out." Aika noted to her, sipping some of her tea. "But yes, it did happen when Mito-kaa-chan was still with us. It was right when the Uzumaki that Lady Hikari sent at the request of her former master. Among those Uzumaki were Shingen and two of her daughters, eldest Kushina and younger Akane, you aunt, Naruto." Naruto looked a little surprised to hear it.

"I recall Minato and Kushina mentioning her name, stating that I seem to take after her, somehow." Naruto said, before noticing out something. "If my grandmother was the leader of the Uzumaki, then Kushina really is the Head of the Uzumaki Clan, right?"

"Nope, not exactly." Shingen shook his head at this one. "Remember when I told you that the Uzumaki Clan wasn't exactly a single clan, but a conglomeration of clans, like Azai, Shimazu and Senju?"

"Yeah, I recall that." Naruto nodded to it.

"In Uzushiogakure, there weren't any so called elite clans, like here in Konoha, as everyone saw themselves as a part of a single nation, a single people, an Uzumaki people, so to speak. Each Clan that joined discarded their previous name and embraced the name of Uzumaki, while their traditions would integrate into our own society, or be discarded for the betterment of everyone." Shingen began explaining to Naruto. "We were pretty selective to whom we would allow entry into our society, but we did allow individual clans to reside on Uzu as our guests and protectorates. Some of those protectorates, like Clan Tetsumaru, would eventually become Uzumaki, while some, like Clan Namikaze of your father, would be ousted out for the better."

"The Namikaze were really once a full Clan?" Naruto was surprised to hear it. "I always thought that Minato simply brag about it around to make himself look better in everyone's eyes."

"No, he's not lying about it, though he does brag too much about." Shingen said to Naruto. "Clan Namikaze were once residents to Uzu and allies of Uzumaki, considered by our Leader and Council for integration. However, it was soon found out that Namikaze Clan had tried to steal something from the Temple of Founders, Uzumaki's most hallowed place. For that, they were ousted, and soon after, they were almost fully wiped out by their enemies. Today, the only members alive I know of are Minato and Menma. It was actually your grandmother, Lady Hikari that had exiled them out."

"I see. But what about Kushina's status?" Naruto asked again of Shingen.

"I'm getting to that. Now, unlike in all Hidden Villages and countries, Leaders of the Uzumaki and Uzushiogakure are chosen not by the people, but by our Founders, the two deities that had unified the warring clans of Uzu into one nation. They are literally the Mother and Father of Uzumaki and Uzushiogakure." Shingen said to Naruto.

"Each time our Leader, or First Prince or Princess, as we called them, died, the Founders would call into the Temple those they considered for the position of First Prince. The Founders would evaluate the candidates for the position and consult with the spirits of the previous Princes and Princesses, before making their decision. After that, a new Leader was chosen, and none would ever dare to question this decision. The chosen Leader could or could not have been from the family or a blood relative of the previous one, as Princess Hikari wasn't related in any way to Prince Makoto, her predecessor and my father. In other words, Kushina's claim on being the Head of Uzumaki Clan is as invalid as her ego is inflated. She is only recognized as one thanks to Konoha's Council indulging her and completely ignoring our traditions."

"Alright, but why did our Leaders call themselves as Princes and Princesses?" Naruto was curious of that detail. "Would the title of a King or Daimyo fit in better?"

"In normal situation, it would, but as you may've noticed, Uzumaki are kinda a whole separate kind of people from all others." Hiryu spoke up. "The titles of King and Queen were only ever used by the Founders of Uzumaki, and ever since the foundation and their ascension to godhood, they officially continue to wear those titles, while their chosen Leaders, or children, are relegated to the titles of Prince and Princesses."

"You make it sound like they are still alive, Hiryu." Naruto pointed out to him. "Buddha may've been around at some time, but he is long dead. And the Founders must've passed away and are no longer real living persons."

"Because they are alive and real." Shingen surprised Naruto. "I know that it sounds strange and even preposterous for an outside view, but to an Uzumaki, the Founders are alive. They are the living soul and beating heart of Uzumaki and Uzu, with their beings literally living in the Temple. The Uzumaki nation, as some of us had called it, was founded about 5 centuries by those two people, a young woman with long flowing golden hair and green eyes, and a young black haired man with dark eyes."

"Some knowledge of them had been lost, but what was known full well was the fact they had managed to transcend their human forms, and after their deaths, their immortal spirits became linked to Uzushiogakure and Uzumaki. They were not Shinobi, not in the natural sense, but they were the strongest persons that had existed since the times of the legendary Sage of Six Paths and his sons. According to what my father had told me, they were able to command powers beyond that of what all of us are capable of, a power older and greater than Chakra and all Ninjutsu."

"Power greater than Chakra… Like what, magic?" Naruto asked of Shingen, who simply nodded to him. "Don't tell me that you even saw them, and if they are that powerful and still exist, then why did they allow the Uzushiogakure to fall?"

"I have seen them, Naruto, and I myself was skeptical at first about them, just like you." Shingen said to him. "But as to why they had failed to protect the Uzushiogakure… On the eve of the invasion, someone, a traitor, had managed to seal the Temple of Founders through cursed and forbidden techniques that haven't been used since the Uchiha Clan tried to invade Uzu. That move had trapped the Founders in their own home, with a demon standing guard, not allowing anyone passage." Shingen said in a solemn tone, with everyone seeing his saddened face, before he turned to Naruto and spoke up again.

"The Uzumaki were always a very unique entity in this world, and there are a great many things that we were responsible for and that you need to know of Naruto. But for now, all you need to know is what I've told you now. Take time and think about it, Naruto. Now, if you don't mind, I'll head downstairs and finish up on that dress Hyuuga had asked me to adjust for her…" Shingen stood up and left the room, with Aika speaking up, deciding to change the subject.

"So your first C-rank mission will be a border guarding duty?" Aika asked of her children, with Hiryu nodding to it.

"Yup. Looks like we'll be stuck in the outpost for two weeks with Kakashi, watching the neighboring land and checking the traders coming from and in to Suna." Hiryu noted out, sipping on his soup. "I can already tell that Rei and Keiji will go berserk from it, especially if Kakashi tried to "act like a fatherly teacher to his cute little Genin" as Anko-sensei would put it. That is, unless something unexpected happens…"

"Like a sudden attack of enemy Shinobi?" Akemi asked of him, with Hiryu shrugging at it. "But Konoha isn't at war and we have the non-aggression pacts pretty much everyone, haven't we? Not to mention that Land of Rivers is situated right between Lands of Fire and Wind. It would a near suicide for any opponent Shinobi to try and operate there openly."

"I wouldn't be so sure on that, sweetie." Aika spoke up in serious tone, drawing the attention from everyone. "Suna and Konoha may be at peace and in the alliance, but this alliance isn't as strong as it used to be, and from what some of my old friends from Suna have written me, it doesn't seem to be accommodating Suna at all."

"What do you mean, Mom?" Hiryu asked of Aika.

"Over the years, Konoha has been expanding its clientele, and now, more and more of profitable contracts and jobs are pouring from Daimyo and nobles of Land of Wind." Aika told everyone, with Naruto and Hiryu exchanging looks. "Obviously, this situation has strained the relations between Suna and Konoha. There is always a specific balance always maintained between the Great Five Hidden Villages, with each of Village providing their services to their respective Lords. And now Konoha provides the services for both our Lord and one from Land of Wind."

"Suna sure wouldn't like this entire situation one bit." Naruto concluded, before adding up more. "They were always considered the weakest among the Great Five, with their numbers always lower than that of their neighbors. If they lose their main source of money and job, that'll be the end for them."

"And a possible end for the peace." Hiryu nodded to what Naruto said. "The alliance between Suna and Konoha as equal allies has been one of the main factors in maintaining the current status quo. Should Suna lose their main support at Royal Win Court to Konoha, they won't take this lightly. We could have a full on coalition against us all, just like with Uzu at the end of the Third War."

"Let's hope that Minato doesn't force Suna to this and maintains the balance." Aika said to her children and Naruto. "Now, since this is your first mission, I do want to recommend you to be prepared for the unexpected. In my and your father's experiences, first C-rank missions have a pretty decent chance of escalating into something more difficult." Aika said to them, starting to take up the dish to wash them, leaving the trio still sitting at the table.

"Think we should pack up for an extermination mission, like for our third simulation?" Naruto asked of Hiryu, who nodded to him.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'll call Rei with Keiji and tell them to prep up accordingly." Hiryu stood up from the table, going for the phone.

"I hope that this will be a normal mission, not like what Mom has told just now." Akemi said truthfully, getting the attention from Naruto. "I didn't mean like I was afraid or anything. I just…"

"I know, you prefer to avoid fighting when possible, and it's not in your style to seek trouble on your head." Naruto recalled, with Akemi letting out a defeated sigh. "That's not such a bad thing. Frankly, I too hope that this mission will be a boring type, and I think that Hiryu wants the same. But, as your dad has told us many times during the drills: "hope for best, prepare for the worst."

"Yet somehow we are never ready for his worst…" Naruto and Akemi chuckled at her joke. "Don't worry, Naruto. If push comes to shove, I'll be alright. After all, I didn't train for nothing, so I'll be able to take of myself and anyone that comes after us."

"I'd much rather you leave those "anyone" to me and others, Akemi." Naruto suddenly said to her in a blunt fashion as always.

"And why would you want me to do that, exactly?" Akemi asked of him. "Is this your way of saying that I'm not up to par with everyone else?" She raised her eyebrow at this one, with Naruto sighing at this one.

"No, I didn't mean it to sound like degrade you or anything." Naruto said to her calmly. "I mean that out of our entire Squad, you are probably the only one who can really patch us up effectively. In a sense, I consider you to be are our most valuable member, since you are the one who can take care of all of us."

"Oh… I-I didn't think you thought of me like that…" Akemi blushed up at this praise from Naruto, while he stood up, before saying some more.

"And don't worry. If things do go south, I'll watch your back." Naruto nodded to her, before leaving for his room.

"Thanks…" Akemi said in a somewhat dreamy fashion, missing the fact that she and Naruto were overheard by her mother, who had a small smile on her face.

* * *

 **Next morning.**

Squad 5 assembled near the main gates, with all of Genin deciding to follow Hiryu's suggestion to pack up for trouble. That included Akemi, although she wasn't looking for trouble on her part, but understood the need to be ready for anything. She was also reassured that if something were to happen, she would have her teammates to depend upon, especially Hiryu and Naruto, with the latter promising to watch her back. With that in her mind, she was calm and collected.

Just as the Squad had assembled, Kakashi and Anko had appeared along as well, with Keiji not missing his chance at a quick snide remark.

"Wow, that's something new. Hey Anko, are you sure you've got the right guy, 'cause I think this masked perv isn't ours." Keiji chuckled, with Rei adding up.

"Yeah, that one seems to need a cold wash only, while our works only with hot water. Plus, this one seems to be right on time, without any grannies and black cats behind his back. You've definitely brought the wrong one." The entire Squad chuckled at this one.

"Very funny, you two. I've simply decided to start my day earlier than usual, that's all." Kakashi stated to them in his usual lazy manner.

"Meaning that you were staying up late, reading the newest edition of frog's porn that came out yesterday." Naruto translated for everyone, with his squad laughing at a shocked Kakashi's face, before he regained his cool.

"And how would you know that, Naruto, unless you yourself take an interest in such stuff as well." Kakashi implied, with Naruto shaking his head. "Now, we are all Shinobi here, and there is nothing to be ashamed. If you want, I could give you a list of literature you might enjoy."

"No thanks, I'll stick to more morally acceptable literature. And as for how I know, it's hard to _not_ know, considering that there are posters about it everywhere." Naruto pointed at one of them, glued up at the wall, with the rest of his group looking at it for confirmation.

"Well, looks like he's got you there, Kakashi." Anko chuckled at this one, before noticing that the group looked a bit lightly packed. "You sure you want to pack this lightly? The outpost may have everything needed, but still…"

"Oh, but we are quite packed up." Rei took out of one of her leg holsters one of her scrolls. "Uzumaki, remember? Never leave a home without a scroll or two with your stuff in it."

"Hm, so my cute little Genins have been learning a little bit of Fuinjutsu?" Kakashi asked of them in his own manner. "It is very admirable, to be following in the footsteps of our great Fourth Hokage. Did you know that he is considered to be one of the greatest Fuinjutsu masters of our time, as well as being the one responsible for sealing away the Kyuubi?"

"The only reason that guy is great is because of the Hiraishin which he uses all the time." Rei scoffed. "And did everyone forget that it was _our_ mom doing all the sealing with Kyuubi, at her own life's expense?!" She nearly shouted.

"That only means that the rest are idiots for believing into a lie. We know, and that's what counts, because that doesn't make us blind." Naruto reassured Rei, with her giving him a small smile, before he turned to Kakashi and spoke up to him. "Look, you can stand here and flash us your fan-boner for Hokage all you want. We'd better get to the outpost and man it as soon as possible. Better get there early then late, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, plus we'll have more time to get accustomed to our region of surveying." Hiryu agreed.

"Whatever, let's just get moving before this fanatic started converting us into his religion." Keiji agreed, before turning to Akemi. "Ake-chan, you and your folks have been to Suna once, right? How long it'll take us to reach the border of Fire and Rivers at our normal speed or are there any short cuts?"

"Well, at a simple pace, it would take about a day and a half, if you travel light and by main road." Akemi recalled. "But we can take a short cut if we head directly in the direction of the outpost, and if we go through the forest, then we'll be there in about five hours at our speed, plus with a stop or two to take a breather. That's what Mom had told me this morning if we decided to not waste time around. Personally, I'd rather head out right now and reach it sooner than later."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Rei agreed on it, with others also agreeing, with the exception of Kakashi.

"You know, Lord Hokage did say that it would take two days for us to reach that outpost? So why not stick to a more appropriate pace instead of rushing in, take in the sense of traveling and enjoy the scenery?" Kakashi lazily suggested, with everyone giving him an irate eye.

"I think we'd rather be going now instead of taking pictures of squires and falling leafs, thank you." Hiryu responded for everyone, and without any further arguing, the group moved out at a fast pace, taking the route that Akemi had suggested to them.

* * *

 **Five hours and thirty minutes later. Near the border of Land of Fire and Land of Rivers.**

Just as Akemi had told them, it did take Squad 5 around five hours, if not a little more because of a certain lazy Jonin, to reach their destination. Having travelled through the forest has earned them a great deal of saved up time, even with a stop for a quick break and lunch an hour ago. The team was making great time, and were about to leave the forested area for an open ridge, where they could a mill-like brick tower rising up above the horizon, with a well near it and a small barrack for about ten or so men. The place looked like it could house a couple of teams or a Squad like theirs, so the team was already looking forward to taking their post.

However, they suddenly stopped right about the exit from the forest, when Rei and Keiji had signaled the rest to stop and hide. With both of them possessing fully mature Sharingan and being the better ones in terms of recon, Hiryu had told them to take the lead and report if something were off right ahead. And now it seemed like his idea was paying off, as the group had came to a halt, hiding behind and on the trees, and observing a very interesting picture before their eyes: four of Konoha Chunins were talking about something with a full Squad of Iwa Shinobi. Hiryu looked to his right and spoke up to Keiji.

"Keiji, can you make out what they are talking about?" Hiryu asked of him, with Keiji nodding to him with his active Sharingan.

"Yeah, already have. Apparently, this little Squad of Iwa is a deep recon unit, sent to gather up information about the inner trade routes towards the capital and Konoha, along with everything in between." Keiji said from reading the lips of Shinobi, before scowling. "And the outpost champs there are offering to trade the information for money. Fucking traitors…"

"Keiji, I'm sure that you are mistaken." Kakashi lazily stated, getting an annoyed glare from him. "It's probably one of the infiltrators units sent by Hokage to scout out Iwa. The outpost's Chunins are just probably giving them directions. There's no way that these are Iwa Shinobi literally bribing our comrades, right?"

"Wrong, 'cause it seems to me like they've been having this little scheme going for a while, from what the head of the outpost is telling to their leader. And did you forget that Sharingan lets us read muscle movements? Reading lips is the same thing basically. " Rei retorted to Kakashi, her Sharingan blazing up a little. "The Iwa's are trying to bargain for lower price, but doesn't look like they'll be parting empty handed. If we are going to strike, then we better do it now, before Iwa's Shinobi leave."

"She's got a point there, Kakashi, so why-Where the heck did he go?!" Anko nearly shouted, when she noticed that Kakashi wasn't with them again. "Don't tell me he…"

"Hi there, sorry to intrude on your little talk." Kakashi said out loud, as he was approaching the group of traitors and Iwa Shinobi, all of whom already took the defensive positions. "Now, I hope you don't mind that I and my Squad had come a little early and…" The entire Squad facepalmed themselves at this idiocy.

"That idiot's gonna get us all killed." Naruto simply said, taking up his claymore. "Hiryu, what's the plan?" Hiryu quickly began to tell his plan to everyone.

"Rei and Keiji, move around the group and outflank them from behind. Target the traitors and strike after we get their attention, but leave at least one alive. We'll need at least one traitor and one Iwa Shinobi alive." Rei and Keiji nodded, disappearing from the view. "Akemi, slow or stop them, give us an advantage, and after give us long range support. Anko and I'll strike at the center and try to separate them. Naruto, do you see the big guy with the large naginata?" Hiryu pointed to Iwa's Jonin with a long and wide-bladed naginata.

"I'll take care of him." Naruto already understood what needed to be done, as he and Hiryu unsealed three kunai with tags each, charging up the tags already. "Shock and awe?"

"Shock and awe. Now!" Hiryu commanded, with him and Naruto throwing the kunai towards the group.

Hiryu had chosen the good time for the strike, as Kakashi had ran his mouth long enough and was about to face off against 11 enemy Shinobi. Fortunately for him, the six tags flown near him and activated, instantly producing a bright flash of light and deafening bang disorientating everyone that had heard it all near them.

Four out of seven Iwa Shinobi, including their leader with naginata, were able to shield their eyes and got off with only deafened hearing, while the rest weren't as lucky. Right after the flashes of light disappeared, Hiryu, Naruto and Anko went on to the offensive, with Akemi casting up the Quicksand Jutsu to trap anyone she could. She was successful in capturing seven out of eleven, with the lucky four jumping away at the feeling of ground moving near them.

Naruto moved past the disorientated Shinobi, closing in on the ones that got off easy. With his speed, he was able to quickly close the distance, already bringing around his sword and thrusting it into the first victim, who had turned his back to him. Bringing the blade out by slashing out his torso and ending the life of the first Iwa Shinobi, Naruto went on ahead, but at a more careful pace, as he was now forced to duck and evade incoming Kunai and rocks. Casting out two Fireballs, Naruto was able to lay some pressure off himself, before confronting the Jonin with the naginata, already charging towards him

Just as Naruto had went on his offensive, Hiryu closed up on the disabled Shinobi, bringing out his chokuto, and quickly slashed one of the Iwa's throats, killing him. Without losing a momentum, he moved around the falling body and toward his friend, who had managed to regain his senses quickly and brought out his own sword. He managed to parry two of Hiryu's attacks, leading them away, before trying to slash him horizontally. However, Hiryu quickly ducked downwards, before thrusting his sword in the abdomen of his enemy leading it upwards, carving up a large wound as Hiryu's sword went upwards.

Anko followed after Hiryu, sending her trusting snakes towards one of the immobilized Iwa ninjas. She moved past him as he squirmed in pain at the feeling of poisonous snakes attack him, instead deciding to focus up on one of traitors, who had released himself and got better from the shock. He sent three kunai towards Anko, which she ducked, before casting up a Fireball towards her. Anko was forced to evade to the side, before sending one of her own Fireballs, but missing as well. Fortunately for her, two kunai with strings had hit her opponent, before stunning him with electrical charges, courtesy of Hiryu's Electric Current Jutsu.

Rei and Keiji acted just then when Hiryu had disabled the Konoha's traitor, while they went to take care of the others. They had regained their senses and were trying to free themselves up, when Keiji and Rei closed on them. Bringing out both of his scythes, Keiji sent them both as boomerangs towards two Konoha's traitors, with his weapons reaching them and impaling them in the back.

Rei's opponent had the chance to free himself up, so she decided to resort to a quick Genjutsu, making him see her coming to him at the side, while in truth she was coming at him from the front. The trick worked, as the traitor tried to strike at her with a Water Jutsu, before his head came off his shoulders.

Just as Rei and Keiji entered the fray, Naruto had engaged the Jonin, parrying and evading his naginata with his claymore. Iwa's Shinobi had the reach on his side, so he was able to keep Naruto on his toes and away from himself. He has been putting Naruto on the defensives for at least two minutes now, and all this time Naruto analyzed his moves. His opponent was good with his weapon, and it was clear from the variety of his movements. However, while Naruto may not have had a Sharingan, he did have a good eye for things. And it helped, as Naruto realized that his opponent, while good with naginata, followed a specific pattern of moves, and there was a potential opening for Naruto to exploit.

Waiting for the right moment, he brought his claymore in position to parry, until he moved forward towards his enemy, while claymore made a dive down on to coming naginata, pinning the blade against the hard soil beneath. The Jonin's weapon didn't manage to handle the strain and broke in two, while Naruto had placed his weapon for a perfect cut, and sent it at the shocked Jonin, before burying his blade deep in him… until his body suddenly turned into mud, trapping Naruto's claymore in itself.

"Mud Clone Replacement." Naruto spoke out loud, before releasing his grip of his claymore and jumping in the air, just before three earth spikes pierced the air near him.

"Not too shabby for an Uzumaki brat." Spoke up the Jonin, who was behind Naruto when he struck his clone. "It has been a long time since I saw a Shinobi with a claymore, especially when I had thought we had killed the last of your Uzumaki Vanguards. Guess we didn't do a thorough enough job with you."

"And I assure you, there won't a repeat of that for you." Naruto landed on the ground near him, casting quick series of signs before taking up two kunai and speaking up. "Lightning Style: Railgun." Naruto pointed the kunai towards the Jonin, with both flying right towards him at a lightning speed.

Had it not been for Jonin's reflexes, he would've lost his head and heart right that moment. Instead, he managed to evade, but still ended up with pierced inside out shoulder, disabling his right arm. Naruto seized the moment and went into the offensive, as he closed the distance and struck at the rounded shoulder with his left fist, nearly crushing into dust remaining bone there.

Screaming out of pure pain, Jonin used up his rage to literally petrify his arm, before sending it right into Naruto's stomach, punching him right up into the air. Naruto flew away from him a few meters, before landing on the ground, coughing out blood. Naruto could've sworn that he had a rib broken or two, but he didn't let that stop him, as Naruto quickly recovered from this attack and jumped away from the following landing of his opponent, cracking the ground nearly crushing Naruto's skull. Using the moment from the quick rise on his hands, Naruto made a spinning motion, kicking Jonin in the face and his petrified arm twice each, before the redhead stood on his feet.

Jonin had recovered enough, but was seemingly unable to use any signs, as Naruto had noted it out. Instead, his opponent had resorted to using club of a hand as the main weapon, swinging it at Naruto, who evaded it without much problem, but seeking an opportunity for the strike. Then suddenly, Naruto's senses have kicked in, telling him to evade, which he did, letting a large Water Dragon crush into the Jonin. Taking a quick glance, Naruto saw that it was Akemi supporting him. Jonin was literally captured in the jaws of a dragon, before being crushed into the outpost's tower in full force. Naruto closed his distance on him, and before Jonin had the chance to react, delivered him a strong punch right into the face, knocking the Jonin out of commission.

Wiping out some blood from his mouth after the tough battle, Naruto looked at his comrades, seeing that all had done their part and that the battle was over. Had he and his comrades not been subjected by Shingen to a specially designed Genjutsu that had trained them up mentally for killing, they would all be vomiting right from all this gore. But instead of feeling bad, they all felt calm and collected, with Akemi coming to Naruto, while Hiryu and Anko were dealing with a deafen and temporarily blind Kakashi, with Rei and Keiji securing the captured traitor.

"Let me take a look at you." She said immediately, already activating an analyzing jutsu, before examining Naruto. "You have two broken and one cracked rib and some damage all over your abdomen. If you hold still…" Akemi spoke up in a full medical expert way, completely ignorant to the fact that the ground literally began to rise up behind her, taking a shape of a human.

Naruto, however, wasn't as ignorant, and even if he had some damage done to him, he was still a very much dangerous and capable fighter. Without any words, Naruto quickly performed a Kawarimi, replacing him and Akemi, with Naruto taking his friend and comrade's place… and taking a direct hit from a kunai into his chest. Fortunately for Naruto, Shingen's design had prevented penetration, and kunai stuck there. Seizing the moment, Naruto quickly grabbed on the stuck kunai in him, before immediately plunging it deep into the throat of Iwa's Shinobi, killing him.

Akemi looked shocked when she saw it, not even suspecting that there was someone ready to kill her just now. She was however glad and happy that Naruto had saved her, as well as horrified when she saw him take a hit for her. She did calm down when she saw that the kunai had struck the protected area, but her joy was quickly replaced by cold and determined rage and killing intent, when she looked behind her back and saw the last of Iwa Shinobi, fleeing for the hills. A quick series of hand signs have followed…

"Water Style: Water Spear."

And right after that, from Akemi's mouth exited a thin, long streak of water, which instantly went towards Iwa's Shinobi, and after several sharp turns, reached its target and pierced the fleeing Shinobi's skull. After that, Akemi turned to Naruto and spoke up.

"You seem to have missed these two." Akemi noted out to him with a small smile.

"Yeah, my bad." Naruto agreed with her. "Thanks, for having my back."

"You've watched my back today, like you've promised yesterday. I've figured would do the same for you… a-and everyone else, o-of course." Akemi added swiftly to what she said, blushing up beat red in record time, while Naruto simply smiled to her.

"I know you will, and thank you for it." Naruto simply said to her, while their teammates watched them.

"He does realize that he's basically flirting with your sister, doesn't he?" Keiji asked Hiryu directly, who simply shrugged this off.

"I don't think he knows it, yet, but who knows…" Hiryu simply said to him, before looking around them. "We'll need to send someone to Konoha and inform Hokage about what had happened here, ask him for immediate replacements and POW convoy."

"Yeah, they may be knocked out, but it would be idiocy to transport them through the Land of Fire like that." Rei agreed with them. "I'll go, since I'm the fastest, after you, Hiryu, so I'll be in Konoha in a couple of hours."

"Alright, go on ahead." Rei nodded to Hiryu and Keiji, before heading back to Konoha. "We'll be securing the area, and the spoils of the battle for ourselves..."

"My favorite part." Keiji chuckled at this one, as he and Hiryu went on to taking care of stuff, while Anko and Kakashi decided to compile a report of what had happened.

* * *

 **Next day. Hokage's tower.**

Minato read the reports about the yesterday's mission of Squad 5, and he was, for the lack of better word, infuriated. Konoha's Chunins so openly collaborating with Iwa deep scouting parties, trading vital information for easy money, betraying the Will of Fire and Konoha without a second thought. And the worst part about it was the fact that Shingen had warned him about such things happening _years_ ago. He had considered himself not a prideful and arrogant person, but at this moment, he could practically _hear_ Shingen telling him that he was right all along. There would have to be actions taken, and Minato will ensure that this incident any similar situations were eliminated, but first…

"It would seem that you, Kakashi, have lost your form and shape a bit." Minato stated to him. "I can understand that you could mistake the Iwa's Shinobi for our Anbu Infiltration Unit, but to be blinded and deafen like that, leaving yourself so open to attack… You are very lucky that your Genins have been able to eliminate this threat quickly."

"My deepest apologies, Lord Hokage." Kakashi replied with a bow. "It would seem that my cute little Genins are catching up with my teachings faster than I anticipated. At this rate, they may be able to enter Chuunin Exams in the next year…"

"More like this year already, while you _really_ need to step up your game, scarecrow." Anko retorted on his remark. "They've handled this situation better than any Genin team I've heard about, and those weren't any Iwa Genins. They were Chunins and a full-fledged Jonin out there, not the best of Iwa, but certainly _nothing_ to scoff at for anybody. And the kids here have secured us two living prisoners for interrogation. I ask permission to take part in it, sir."

"Granted, and Squad 5 is now officially on leave for four days. After that, you five are to report for your next mission of C-rank, but within the Village's walls." Minato informed the Genins, who looked a little surprised at this one. "Until then, congratulations on completing your first A-rank mission. Your reward is being gathered and checked at the treasury, so it'll be delivered to you shortly. You can head right there if you like, so you are dismissed. And as for you Kakashi, you've got a month to get back in shape." Kakashi nodded to him, with the whole Squad leaving the office of Minato, with a secret guest finally revealing himself.

"A C-rank turned into an A-rank… This sure does bring back memories." Shingen spoke up, uncloaking himself, and gaining the attention of Minato. "And with Iwa involved no less, what an irony. Though if I remember correctly, our mission wasn't an outpost manning, but a recon mission in Land of Rain, the one during which you've didn't stop complaining about it being raining so much."

"It _was_ raining _a lot_." Minato reminded to Shingen, who simply chuckled. "Tell me, Shingen, what are you really after, hm? Are you trying to discredit and humiliate me? Turn everyone against me?"

"Minato, would you be surprised if I were to tell you that I've stopped caring about your image a long time ago?" Shingen simply said to him. "No, what I'm after is making sure that this Village is safe, both from external _and_ internal enemies. Konoha may not be Uzu, and have quite a lot of things I wish it didn't have, but… This is the only home I have left now, and that does motivate me to protect it. And so far, I think I've done a pretty lackluster job, to be honest with you."

"Aren't we the humility itself? Finally admitting to your own mistakes, Shingen?" Minato asked of him in a gloating manner, with him simply chuckling to it.

"Oh, but did I say a word about it being _my_ fault?" Shingen took a seat in front of Minato, who scowled at him. "You've asked me to take the Root from Danzo, to turn his personal army for conquering Konoha into a force that would protect Konoha from all kinds of threats, threats that otherwise would not be found out, remember? Yet, when I've started to do the job you assigned to me, you've suddenly had this urge to limit _all_ of my actions to just recon, spying and reporting, _not_ eliminating those threats. And where did _that_ lead us?"

"What do you want from me, Shingen? Did you just drop by to gloat at me, to boost up your ego at my expense?" Minato irritatingly asked of him.

"The former, at first, and to talk about this entire situation." Shingen's voice took a more serious tone. "We both know that assigning Anbu Black Ops for this task is a risky move, as they may not like to spy on their own comrades, and this needs to be taken care of. Each of the outposts contains not just supplies for our travelling Shinobi on mission, but maps of their area and roads, coordinates of our closest to those outposts' safe houses, supply depots and far more. And Konoha Shinobi literally sell these for little money… We may not see eye to eye with each other on nearly every occasion, Minato, but this is clear an exception. I'm only asking for a formal approval, because I've already given the needed orders to my men." Minato glared at Shingen, before telling him.

"Will your men be able to deal with this?" He asked of him, with Shingen simply nodding to him. "Alright… Then do it."

* * *

 **Another long over 10k chapter… But hey it's worth it. Squad 5 has had their first C/A rank mission, and we've gotten ourselves a bit of Uzumaki lore and mythology, along with solid information about it. And now we also have the first instance of Minato officially agreeing with Shingen. Now, onto some details…**

 **Some of you were asking about the Uzumaki Clan and how is Kushina the head of it, so here is the quickest and simplest explanation: Konoha recognizes Kushina as Head of Uzumaki Clan, since her mother was the last Leader of Uzumaki. While in reality, Uzumaki were more like a nation made of many clans that got integrated into it, but since Uzumaki were a bit reclusive on their Island of Uzu, most simply stuck with referring to them as a Clan, not a nation.**

 **Uzumaki were a nation that integrated a number of independent clans into it, adding up bloodlines to themselves. And as for their leader selection process, it is something I've came up with on my own, along with the Founders. I think some of you may recognize them by these vague descriptions I gave you, or maybe not. Now, the Founders, or Mother and Father, or Uzumaki Gods, whichever you like, are real, and Shingen wasn't lying about any of it. They'll appear sooner or later, no worries, and as for their power… Yeah, I didn't make a mistake there.**

 **Next up, the First Prince or Princess, they are selected by the Founders to lead Uzumaki as they see best. You could say that politically, Uzushiogakure was a principality, with a selected leader. First Prince and Princess wields a full authority on all things, being only overruled by Founders themselves. So it was well within Lady Hikari's power to banish the Namikaze Clan out.**

 **Now I don't think there's much I would like to add up this time, so review, ask questions, leave suggestions in the PM and reviews, follow and favor, I'll answer all of you.**

 **Oh, and Lion of the West is in the works already, expect it next week.**

 **'Till later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Konoha's Academy.**

It has been a day after the break was over, and Naruto with Rei now walked through the halls and corridors of the Academy, students' of which they were not so long ago. Some believe that it would seem and feel nostalgic, coming here after some time, but neither of the two were feeling that way, nor were they all that glad to be back in this place. Turns out, Hokage has long picked up the mission for the Squad 5, or at least for a part of it, and that was manning the Academy as the assistants for the Chuunin teachers, for an entire month no less. There was no explanation as to why they were going to do this mission, as Minato simply handed it to Naruto and Rei and has sent them both there. They were supposed to have been joined by the rest of their squad mates, but, unfortunately for the pair, there was a sudden slight change of plans.

"Ugh, I still can't believe that this blond asshole has sent Anko and the rest of our gang on a support mission!" Rei growled out, infuriated at such injustice. "And he couldn't send all of us there, only one Jonin and three Genins. "Lack of manpower and too much work needs to be done" my ass! Don't take it the wrong way, Naruto, but he must've pulled that bullshit just for you, I can practically sense it."

"Duly noted, and I agree." Naruto nodded to her, with Rei surprised at that one. "Remember the day we got our mission to the border, when he had asked me to stay? He had told me that he and Kushina were _forgiving_ me for everything I have done, and were welcoming me back with open arms."

"Really? He seriously thought that after everything that had happened, you would wanna go back?" Rei asked of him, with Naruto shrugged at it. "So let me guess the rest: after that approach failed, he and his wife have decided that you would come back if you've rekindled your relations with Menma and Narumi, am I right?"

"Probably, because that's the only reason he would want me to stay for this mission, as far as I see." Naruto sighed. "And as for you, Rei… No offence, but I feel like he had picked you out of random, nothing more."

"None taken, plus I was the best student in the class, after Hiryu, and could've been a Rookie of the Year if I wanted to." Rei recalled. "But in all honesty, I wish were with the rest of the gang right now. I'm surprised that Anko had managed to get a support mission for us, without Hokage and Kakashi finding out. Also, where is the Scarecrow? I haven't seen him today, and he wasn't leaving with the team, so where did that idiot go?"

"He's probably training, since his idol had told him to do just that, leaving Anko in charge." Naruto thought out loud, with Rei agreeing with this. "And from what Anko had told me a couple weeks back, one of her friends, Kurenai, or whatever's her name, currently works in the mission distribution. Through her, Anko had probably managed to snatch the mission, certainly intended for all us, but… You can probably guess the rest."

"Yeah, Douche-Kage wants to have his estranged son back, and since Academy _really_ is undermanned, I get to suffer through this along with you." Rei let out a frustrated sigh. "Any idea what we can really teach those brats? I mean something really meaningful, not the usual propaganda and stuff that they are showing up their mouths all the time?"

"We'll come up with something, though I'm surprised that you are willing to teach them something, Rei." Naruto said to her, as they've stopped at the right door and knocked three times. "Plan to retire and become a teacher any time soon?" Naruto chuckled, with Rei chuckling herself at that one before answering.

"Nah, not any time soon anyway. It's just… Well, my mom used to be a teacher at the Academy herself and from what Shingen had told me and Keiji, she was a damn good teacher here." Rei said with pride, followed by sadness. "I just… I wouldn't want to mess up at this. I know that all of it as is a sham, but still…"

"I get it, Rei." Naruto nodded to her, with her looking at him with a clear surprise. "You wanna make your mom proud of you, even if she's no longer here. That's something I can understand well, wanting to make your parents proud with your achievements."

"Spoken from the personal experience?" Naruto nodded to her, with the door sliding open and revealing Iruka Umino, smiling to both of them.

"Ah, Naruto, Rei, you are just in time." He said to them both, letting them in. "The class is just about to start up, and I've been informed that you will be handling several lessons. Right now, it's the Shinobi theory that they are going through, with the next lesson being the training outside. Hope you will be able to handle this assignment…" Naruto and Rei stepped inside of the classroom, with Naruto already starting to slightly regret taking this mission all together.

The class that they were assigned to teach was, _accidentally_ , the very same one that Naruto had left behind, with both of his twin siblings in it. Now there was no doubt in both his and Rei's minds that this entire mission was a setup by Hokage, all so that he could get to be closer to his _esteemed_ as he were to get closer, he would start to develop feelings for them, and later would start to yearn for his _real_ family. Well, Hokage was going to be sorely disappointed, as Naruto wasn't planning on going back, and from the looks he was getting from them, Menma and Narumi weren't all that interested in getting Naruto back.

Rei looked around the class, noticing that all of the kids here were about the age of 9, with most of them being from the prominent Clans, with many Heirs in here, including ones from Namikaze, Uzumaki and Uchiha. It didn't take her even a second to guess that this was the very same class that Naruto had graduated from, and from the looks everyone was giving him, they weren't really looking forward to seeing him. She herself has gotten the looks, mostly from the female part of the class, most of who she quickly identified as fan girls looking at Rei as if she was a rival in love to them. She didn't pay much attention to their glaresor to the glare from Sasuke Uchiha, unhappy with the daughter of a notorious traitor, being his teacher.

Iruka, seeing how everyone's attention was on focused up on the pair, decided to speak up.

"Alright class! As you know, the Academy is experiencing a shortage of able teachers and Shinobi available to teaching." Iruka started. "Therefore, Lord Hokage has decided, that until this problem is solved, there will be Genin Teams on a monthly rotation that will supplement the staff. They will act as teachers, being recognized as our assistants, and they will be performing this, as this is considered to be a C-rank mission for them. As of today, Squad 5's Naruto Uzumaki and Rei Uchiha will be acting as your teachers in several subjects, including our current one. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why do we get this dumb loser and a traitor's daughter as teachers?" Kiba arrogantly asked of Iruka, with most of the class laughing at this one. "I mean, one had just run away from us, since he couldn't keep up, and this girl here is known for…"

"You get the two of us as your teachers, because your Hokage had decided so, Kiba." Naruto bluntly stated to him with a dead serious voice, making him only scoff, while others decided to subside. "And in case anyone wishes to question his decision, feel free to ask him yourself. If not, then all of you here will shut your mouths and if I hear another insult or laugh coming from you, then I'll make you regret it."

"Hey Naruto, you can't just threaten us like that! You aren't our teacher and you aren't even worthy of wearing that headband on your arm!" Sakura shouted out at him, and before Iruka could intervene, Rei unleashed a monumental amount of KI, shutting the entire class and making them shudder.

"Rei, where did you even learn to release so much KI, and you can't just do this on them!" Iruka reprimanded her, as if she was his student again. "They are just kids, and they are not ready to handle this. Not even your former classmates can possibly handle it, and you've used it like this on them? Don't you care about their health?"

"As a matter of the fact, I do, and if they can't handle a little bit of killing intent, then all of them can drop out of program immediately." Rei scoffed at him, with Iruka glaring at her. "The moment they became the students here, was the moment that they've signed up for the life of Shinobi, and part of it is handling life and death situations. You've tried to preserve our innocence, Iruka-sensei, tried to make it look like game or fun for us, but that's not how it works."

"You've said that we are their teachers now, is that right?" Naruto asked of Iruka, who nodded to him. "Well, then why don't you leave for your own class now, Iruka, and let me and Rei handle them. Don't worry, we won't hurt them, physically."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Iruka asked of Naruto and Rei, before letting out a frustrated and defeated sigh. "Fine, but I will hold you two responsible for whatever happens to them." And with that, Iruka has left the classroom, leaving Rei and Naruto in charge.

"Alright, lets' set some ground rules here, shall we?" Rei took her opportunity to speak up. "Neither Naruto and I like this anymore than you do, but orders are orders. So, for as long as we are here, we'll be teaching you, and you will listen to what we have to tell you. No complains, no arguing, no disobeying, no insulting, bragging, or any other idiotic thing you may want to do. And in addition to that…"

Rei took out of her holster a kunai, and quickly sent it flying towards Shikamaru's desk, hitting it, just one centimeter from him, and immediately awakening him. He looked pale as night at seeing the deadly projectile nearly hitting and killing him. He was not expecting to see this kind of a approach to work from one of the fresh Genins, nor did anyone else for that matter. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn first to Shikamaru, and then back to Rei, with Menma shouting out at her and Naruto.

"Are you trying to show off that you are better than us? Ha, my dad probably just let you two become Genins because you've beg him enough." Menma smirked at Rei. "Besides, Shikamaru and anyone of us here could catch that kunai with our eyes closed."

'Really, Menma, why the hell are you trying to show off in front of this female? She has no problem with kicking our butts here, and she had nearly killed me here, so why are you showing off now? Man this is too troublesome…' Shikamaru thought to himself, before noticing a smirk on Rei's lips. "Oh shit…"

"Oh, is that so?" She smirked at him. "Well, catch." At a blinding speed, Rei drew out another kunai, before sending right at Menma at a great speed.

Nobody was prepared for this one, and most certainly Menma, as he had panicked and ducked down, with the kunai passing above his head. However, it did not hit the wall as it was expected. Instead, it was caught… by Naruto, who was leaving the furthest row, with the kunai in his hand. As he passed by his siblings, he spoke up.

"You really should watch your mouth, Menma, especially with my friend here. She's not the type to create theories, but the type to prove them right or wrong. That goes for everyone here." Naruto simply stated, as he took his previous place, handing the kunai to his partner. "I'll make it short and clear: we teach, you learn, and if you learn well, then the next time maybe all of you will be able to catch that kunai without your eyes. Understood?" Naruto looked around, with none deciding to speak up or do anything, though Kiba, Sasuke, Menma, Sakura and Ino simply scoffed and decided to ignore them.

"Looks like that message was delivered." Rei simply said, before turning to Naruto. "How about we teach them a couple of things about observation? From the looks of it, they could use a few pointers."

"Good idea." Naruto agreed, before turning to face his former classmates. "Open up your notebooks and start writing…"

* * *

 **After the lesson.**

Naruto and Rei, despite a small urge and desire to play a joke or two on the kids, decided to stick to their professional guts and have shared with students some lessons they've learned in observation and information gathering. The lessons that were taught in the Academy did provide some good insights, but they were never detailed or deep enough for good understanding of the subjects. Naruto and Rei have explained to the students what they've learned from their own experience, such as how to stay hidden during recon, how to effectively determine where person is just by sound, along with tactics and strategies best used for recon missions.

While some decided to simply ignore them, the pair was actually quite surprised to see that more than a half of the classroom was actively writing down the lecture. While what they've written down will not allow any of them to catch kunai blind, this will give them better understanding of recon and information gathering. And in the end, when the time for them to become Genin comes, they'll be thanking Rei and Naruto for what they've learned from them, even if the two will never hear it from them.

After the bell rang and with most of the class leaving for the break, Rei went to use the bathroom, leaving Naruto to wipe away the written on blackboard schematics and thesis. Once he was done, he turned around saw that both Menma and Narumi were standing in front of him, with Menma looking at him with a scowl. Letting out a sigh, Naruto decided to break the ice first.

"Is something the matter, you two?" He asked simply, putting down the eraser, before hearing Menma speak up.

"Yeah, why are you here again, Naruto?" Menma asked him directly, with Naruto letting out a sigh.

"To complete a mission given to me. I believe that part should be crystal clear to you two. Is that all?" Naruto answered to them, with Menma continuing.

"No, that's not it. Why are you teaching in our class, and why did you even take this mission? Do you think that we'll want to see your loser face again, or did you start to feel homesick and want to come home? Well, newsflash for dummies: you were evicted and ousted from both our Clans and home, so now you are just a clanless orphan, a nobody that no one wants." Menma gloated at Naruto, with Narumi sighing at her brother's attitude, while Naruto shook his head.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Menma. Continue this trend up, and maybe later you'll be able to make some more complex thinking." Naruto bluntly said to him, with Menma growling at him. "Would it surprise the two of you that I _don't_ want to go back in your family? I'm only teaching here because _your_ father has decided to put me and my friend here, while also sending the rest of my Squad on a separate mission. Had it been my way, me and Rei would be on that mission, not stuck here teaching you how to be Shinobi."

"It's _our_ family, and Dad is also _your_ Dad." Narumi corrected Naruto, catching his curious eye. "Why did you have to leave, Naruto? Mom and Dad were very sad and still are sad that you've left. We know that you've been in some kind of a fight, but was it really necessary to abandon our family names like that? You may be not as good as Menma and I, but that is no excuse to act like you did. Just because we are better than all and you doesn't mean that you had to leave our home."

"And that's the attitude I've not missed at all: the feeling of superiority over everyone…" Naruto rolled his eyes at what his sister just said to him. "Narumi, I've left the house because I've had enough of you two, and _your_ parents, along with all this talk about you two being better than everyone and me not being on par with all. A concept that I find completely wrong and utter garbage."

"But if this is true, then why don't you just acknowledge this?" Narumi asked of Naruto as if it was the most obvious thing. "Mom has been telling us that we are better than most people because of Kyuubi and our Uzumaki heritage, and considering that we get their personal training, being respected and admired as heroes, I'd say that there's no point in rejecting this truth. I mean, why else would Mom and Dad train us and give us the titles of Heirs?"

"Have it ever occurred to you that both Minato and Kushina are wrong in their judgment, as well as their decisions? Especially Kushina with her idiotic belief of superiority over everyone _just_ because she is an Uzumaki." Naruto stated to both of them, with Menma and Narumi not believing in this. "You two really think that they are infallible?"

"Duh, of course they are right in everything, _especially_ when it comes down to your whining ass." Menma smirked at Naruto, who simply shook his head. "This is why Dad is the Hokage and Mom is the Head of Uzumaki Clan, and not that tailor guy."

"Face it, Naruto: Mom and Dad are always right and in everything. I mean, they are who they are, and they are our parents, and parents always know what's best for their children, right?" Narumi argued to him, with Naruto again shaking his head at this one. "Look, we had talked with Mom and she's ready to forgive you, and she even thinks that you could train with us. You may've been stripped of your family name, but isn't this what you've always wanted, to be with us, like as our equal?"

"Pft, this failure could never even hope to match up to us, Narumi. He has lost the right to being even in our shadow the moment Mom and Dad havestripped him of our family names." Menma scoffed at Naruto, who ignored that one. "I don't even know why they are even bothering with you now, like you could be of any use. Without you, our family is finally how it's supposed to be: powerful, strong, honorable, and without any useless garbage like you." Naruto simply shook his head at this again, before speaking up.

"Oh, you two arrogant fools…" Naruto saw the insulted looks on their faces, knowing that the message was delivered by this statement. "I don't even know whether to laugh, gloat or simply pity you. You want to know something, the _real_ reason why I've started to hate our family so much and why I went out of my way to be kicked out eventually? I have realized that Minato and Kushina don't even understand what it means to be a _real_ parent, nor did they ever care enough about me. And while they may care and love you, in whatever way they show it, but in the end, you two are nothing more but the PR instruments for them, cogs in the machine to further advance their own influence, reputation and power."

"Just what I would expect from a failure like you to say. Face it: you are just bitter and jealous about us getting all the deserved attention, while you were justly left out." Menma arrogantly stated to him. "I don't know why, and I don't really give a damn, but for whatever reason, Mom had asked us to tell you this: if you want back, then you can come back any time you want."

"Naruto, why don't you just accept your fate as a fact and start acting like you are supposed to? If you do that, I'm sure that Mom and Dad will be proud of you, and maybe Toad Sage and Dad will even let you sign a summoning contract." Narumi hopefully smiled to him. "Just apologize to them and us, and we can all be a happy big family, like Mom and Dad had always wanted us to be. Come on, isn't that worth putting aside your stupid pride?" Naruto simply looked at her with a momentary heated glare, before calming down and starting to walk towards the exit.

"This is no longer _just_ about pride, Narumi, and I do not plan on following the same idiocy as you do. And tell Kushina that if she wants to have words, better come herself, and not send her cronies for it." With that, headed out to get some fresh air, while he still had the chance before the bell rang.

* * *

 **In the meantime.**

Rei cleaned her hands after using the bathroom, before closing off the water and wiping her hands clean and dry with a hanker she kept. Having been finished, she exited the room and entered the hall, surprised to see someone already waiting for her right outside of the bathroom. That someone wasn't Naruto, but none other than Sasuke Uchiha, son of Fugaku Uchiha and second heir to the Uchiha Clan. He looked at Rei with a prideful and even arrogant look, with not budging at it completely. She wasn't surprised to see a member of Uchiha Clan glaring or giving her angry looks or towards Keiji for that matter. They simply had to get used to that, even though it was unwarranted.

Clan Uchiha was always famous for its prowess, but also infamous for its near universal pride, arrogance and especially their belief of purity of blood. Uchihas preferred to marry and produce children only from the members of their own clan, much like Clan Hyuuga, believing that this will keep their precious bloodline as pure and powerful as possible. They had very little to no tolerance towards those that preferred to "mix things up" and so Rei and Keiji's father, along with their mother and themselves, weren't very much liked in the Clan.

After their mother's sacrifice and their father's death and accusations of him being a traitor, the life for both twins has become near unbearable among the Uchihas. Before, people at least had tried to pretend that they were kind towards them, but after their father's death, all pretenses and masks were off. Clan Uchiha holds no tolerances towards the traitors and half-breeds, and so members of this clan had started to systematically harass, humiliate and even driving the twins on the brink of death at one point. Clan Uchiha has made every possible attempt at making the twins' life miserable: from constant insults to seizing their parents' property and fortune through near illegal means, away from the twins. Kakashi had done nothing about it, nor did he care about it, as did his precious Hokage. Had it not been for Shingen, Rei and Keiji would've probably ended up dying on the streets without a roof above their heads and empty stomachs.

Needless to say, Rei held very little love for Uchihas and had preferred to be associated as an Uzumaki, even if she did love and respect her father. Hence why she still used the Uchiha surname, along with antagonizing the Clan just for the fun of it. Rei simply blinked, before moving past Sasuke and towards the backyard to get some fresh air. Sasuke, insulted that she did not even acknowledge him and the fact that he was standing right in front of her, didn't take this lightly and so he beeline right in front of her, before speaking up.

"It's customary for someone like you to acknowledge a member of ruling family in front of you." He reminded to Rei, who simply rolled her eyes at him. "I demand to know why you didn't show respect to me just now and before, back in the class."

"Why should I show any respect to some dumb kid from one of the Clans?" Rei asked of him instead, with Sasuke looking insulted at this statement. "Just because you are an Uchiha or son of the Clan Head doesn't make you the center of the world, and that certainly doesn't mean shit for me. Now, if that's all, I'll be on my way." Rei was about to go on, but Sasuke stopped her in her tracks, suddenly dropping into a fighting stance, making Rei sigh. "Okay, what is this shit?"

"Fight me, now!" Sasuke suddenly demanded of her, shouting at her, already moving towards her in hopes of hitting Rei.

Rei didn't even need to utilize her Sharingan to see Sasuke's moves and come up with the counters. Standing seemingly still and defenseless, Rei saw how Sasuke had leapt at her, trying to roadhouse kick her in the face. Without any trouble whatsoever, Rei caught Sasuke's leg with her right hand, before pushing it upwards and releasing it. Sasuke now was upside down, nearly falling on his head in midair, before he received a strong kick in his back, sending him flying through the hall and landing on his back. Rei put her foot down and calmly walked towards Sasuke, who was struggling to get up, before she literally picked him up by his collar and spoke up to him.

"Okay, listen up here, punk. I really don't like it when people try to pick a fight with me, be they Uchiha, Hyuuga, Yamanaka, whoever. And I hate it when some dumb idiot is trying to prove something through picking on me or my idiot little brother. And I _especially_ hate it when decide to simply straight up attack me without any good reason, and you've done just that, dumbass." Rei glared at Sasuke, who gulped. "Normally, I would beat the living hell out of anyone who had tried this shit with me. But since you are just a dumb kid, I'll let you off the hook easy this time, but try this on me or anyone else again, and you'll regret it." With this, Rei simply tossed Sasuke on to the floor.

"Leave Sasuke alone, you old crone!" Rei nearly had her eardrums burst at the combined shriek of two banshees that were Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, rushing to Sasuke's side and protecting him.

"Jeez, and I thought Keiji's singing was horrible, but _this_ is so bad, that for a second there I've thought about deafening myself just to save myself from it." Rei commented, looking at the two fuming girls in front of her. "Alright, banshees, what the hell do you two want with me now?"

"We know what you are after! You want to bully Sasuke into dating you, so that you can have him all to yourself, but we won't let you!" Sakura shouted at her, with Rei raising her eyebrow at this one and looking at them like at idiots. "You are too old for him, and there's not even an ounce of appeal on you, unlike us! And you are just an orphan, and people like you don't deserve to even stand near Sasuke!"

"Really? You think that I would lower myself as to try and snatch _this_?" Rei pointed at the standing up Uchiha boy. "Whatever the hell could anyone see in this duckbutted kid is beyond me, but whatever is your fetish. You can be safe, since I don't have an interest in his kind, and would much rather go out with someone who could both talk and back up his words with actions. Someone like Naruto, for an example."

"Naruto?!That disowned piece of trash and a constant convict?!" Ino shrieked at this one. "He is like the worst possible guy to be around, always either brooding, or scowling, or like, being an asshole all the time. When he was in our class, he'd just sit there in his seat and do nothing, yet there was always that menacing feel of him, like he hates everyone here. That, and not to mention that his own parents have disinherited him, which means he's just a worthless piece of garbage. Nothing like our Sasuke here."

"Talk about selective hearing and vision…" Rei shook her head, before speaking up to the girls. "Well, maybe he does hate everything and everyone here. I would, if I was forced to study here with you, and that's not taking into account how his own parents have fucked him up by first disinheriting him just for shits and giggles, and then forcing him to attend Academy with those arrogant brats. From what I've seen in these couple of months, he's shown himself to be a better guy than half the populace of this entire place. He is probably one of the few people I'd trust with my life, and… Huh, why the fuck am I telling you all of this?" Rei suddenly asked herself, before shaking head from any thoughts and speaking up before either of the girls could respond.

"Ugh, whatever. Go ahead and keep your precious Uchiha company or whatever, but if either of you three aren't on time for the next less, you'll be writing 5-page essay on what you've learned today, and I don't care whether you listened or not. Understand?" Rei looked menacingly at the trio, scaring them a little, before heading away from them to get some fresh air.

* * *

 **Two weeks later. Dumpling Shop**

It has been two weeks since Naruto and Rei had received and proceeded with their mission as Academy assistant teachers, as they were now officially known. While it was clear to them this was nothing short of a ruse for Minato to get Naruto back into a family, the pair took this assignment as seriously as possible, since Shingen has nearly beaten such attitude in them during their trainings. And they did take it serious, serious enough as to actually think of it as their real permanent job, especially Rei, who suggested that she and Naruto would go over the teaching plan for their class. This, along with chewing on some dumplings, was what the pair was up to, as Rei spoke up after drinking up her tea.

"Alright, with Theory out of the way, next up is History on our list and that should be for the next two weeks." She said, as she and Naruto looked over the Academy plan, which they had gotten from Iruka. "From the looks of it, they were going to mostly gloss over the Second Shinobi World War and head straight towards the third one, before covering the recent peacetime… I think we should cover the Second War more, since it's the one where Konoha has had the worst losses and most defeats."

"Probably the reason why Academy doesn't want to go too deeply into it, but you are right, it's a very interesting and an enlightening topic." Naruto agreed with Rei, who looked at him with curiosity. "Aside from the emergence of Sannins, this war saw the full use of Shinobi from Hidden Villages, as well as exemplary tactics and strategies deployed by Hanzo the Salamander in defense of Hidden Rain. That's not to mention the devastating Uzumaki's spring and autumn campaigns against Kiri and Kumo, one of the main deciding factors of the latter two dropping out of war early on. A factor that is completely overlooked and forgotten as well…"

"Didn't know you were so into history." Rei noted out, looking at him with a surprise, with Naruto shrugging at this one. "You know, it occurs to me that aside from your skills and general history, I hardly know a thing about you. I mean, we've been partners for two and a half months now, and we don't even know what makes us tick. You probably know even less about me."

"Not that little, probably just as much as you don't know about me." Naruto argued. "But if you are curious, then go right ahead and ask whatever you want."

"Huh, and you wouldn't the least bit curious about me, would you?" Rei asked of him, with Naruto, after a little thinking, nodded to her. "Well, then how about a deal: I ask a question and you answer, then you ask me and I answer, and rinse and repeat. Sounds good?"

"Good enough for me. Go right ahead."

"Alright, let's start with what you really do in your free time?" Rei asked of him, with Naruto looking a little surprised at this one. "Always was curious as to how do you unwind yourself after the week. So, do you have a hobby or something?"

"Well, I usually either read something about history, tactics, or the manuals and scrolls on techniques and Jutsu, or I simply go on training and that's about it." Naruto simply stated to Rei, who was actually surprised at that one. "Not much in terms of hobbies, if you include occasional brawling with local idiots and being convicted, but it would seem that those two are starting to become a thing of the past."

"So, studying, training and nothing else?" Rei asked of Naruto, with him nodding. "Huh, I would've imagined that you would have a hobby or two, maybe like reading detectives or romances. Though with what shitty life you had, I guess I was a tad bit too hopeful for my tastes."

"Well, whether this helps or not, I was foolishly trying to impress Minato and Kushina back when I started, and after… It just started to help me keep my mind of things and not go berserk all the time." Naruto sighed at the memories, looking at his scarred knuckles. "Plus, it was a… relatively harmless way to relief stress. Well, same question."

"Oh, okay." Rei nodded to him, thinking about it. "Don't know if Keiji ever mentioned it or not, but I'm something of a self-taught culinary chef. Love to do a little experimenting with meat and spices from time to time, and I also like to take lessons from Aika on deserts. Although to be honest, Keiji is terrible judge, since he can stomach and eat practically everything without even tasting it, save for peaches."

"Peaches? Why is that?" Naruto was genuinely curious, with Rei nearly breaking into laughter at this one, before pulling out a photo and showing it to Naruto, who nearly fell of his seat at the sight, breaking into a laughter. "I-Is th-that…." Naruto couldn't finish as he laughed at what he just saw.

"Yup, that's him after I gave him a peach cake I cooked up. Turns out he is allergic to those things and he walked like that for a full week before Aika took care of him." Rei laughed along with Naruto at the memory coming back to her. "Oh, I wish you could've seen how he was trying to talk. It was probably the only time I rather liked listening to him blabbering about something, at least for a little while."

"I-I'd bet you were." Naruto calmed down before speaking up normally. "Anyway, no offence, but I'd never imagine you to be the cooking type. I was under the impression that you were, I don't know, listening to some rock music or something like that."

"Keiji is into music, or whatever that garbage he listens is called. I myself prefer something with a bit of fluidity and passion, like tango." Rei revealed with Naruto nodding to her. "And you, no preferences in music and dances, or it's always been only studying and training?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it has _always_ been studying and training." Naruto rubbed his chin, recalling his past. "Actually, I was into dances a little a couple of years back, studied it a bit of waltz and some other dances, whilst working on my footwork in combat. And as for music… Maybe something orchestral, I'm not all that sure myself."

"Waltz, huh? Well, I've taken a couple of lessons of it myself. Maybe we could go for a dance someday?" Rei chuckled, with Naruto smiling to her. "Must be strange for you, to see a usually hard as hell me talking about all this nice and soft stuff, eh?"

"Not really. To be honest with you, I would've been more surprised and worried if you didn't have a soft spot." Naruto bluntly stated to her, with Rei raising an eyebrow at this one.

"Oh? And you would've been worried about me why? What's so wrong with not having a soft spot, huh?"

"If you had asked me a couple of months back, I'd say that nothing is wrong, but now…" Naruto let out a sigh, as he looked at Rei. "You know that I didn't have any friends back when I was still in the Academy, right?"

"Yeah, you've mentioned it a couple of times." Rei nodded to him.

"Well, what I probably have forgotten to mention is that back then, I didn't even have anyone, safe for Aika, to confine to or even talk to about something… redundant, meaningless or just plain stupid." Naruto said to Rei, who continued to listen to him. "I thought back then that it was okay for me to go on days without saying a word to anyone and just focus up on my stuff. But it wasn't until I've met Hiryu and Aika and their parents when I've realized that what I was doing wasn't what I _really_ wanted and needed. I could put up a tough front and make it seem like I was fine without anyone, but in reality I was lonely, _extremely_ lonely and that loneliness was starting to choke me down."

"You were starting to lose yourself?" Rei asked of Naruto, who nodded to her.

"More like I've already lost who I really was, or that part that made me into a breathing and living being. Back then, before our Squad, I think I didn't even "live", more like "existed". But after I got to know you all, after I've left the Hokage's family… I've again started to live, and it's all thanks to you and the rest of the gang, not to mention Aika and Shingen." Naruto smiled to Rei, who smiled back to him at the compliment. "So, bottom line is, having a soft spot is something that makes you more humane, and it's also something that gives you strength to go on. Without it, I'd say that it wasn't even worth being alive if you didn't have any feelings for anything."

"That's some topic for philosophers to think about… Also, I guess you had wanted to say this little monologue for a little while, hadn't you?" Rei smirked a little at Naruto, who simply shrugged it. "Well, at least now I know that beneath all the blunt and hard truth, there is something soft inside of you."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Naruto decided to change the subject back to the topic he was wondering about. "Although, I am still trying to get my head around the entire fact of you cooking. Never would've pictured you of all people to be a housekeeper and a housewife." Rei gave him a small glare before answering to him

"Just because I like cooking and keeping my house clean and all the stuff in orderly fashion doesn't mean that I'm like all the wives of Clan Heads, sitting home and doing only chores while their husbands out doing something meaningful and useful. And besides that, it wasn't my choice to start cooking and cleaning per say, more like a necessity." Rei sighed in a bit of sad tone. "After Dad had… passed away, Keiji and I were left with Kakashi, and that bastard couldn't cook for himself even if his life had depended on it, much less for anyone else. So, after getting sick of instant noodles every day for two weeks straight and a constant mess around me, I've picked up the culinary book and donned the apron and soon enough I found out I actually could cook, along with being pretty good in keeping the house clean. Before I knew it, I've began cooking and experimenting with meals just as a way to relax and unwind, as opposed to simply beating the crap out of the dummies. And as for keeping the house clean, I never could stand having a mess ever since Kakashi took us in."

"I'm still having some difficulties imagining it, but I think I wouldn't mind trying out some of your cooking." Naruto bluntly said to her, with Rei nearly chocking on her dumpling. "Hey, easy there. It's like no one had ever asked you that."

"Because no one ever has, until now." Rei coughed a little, clearing her throat, before drinking some tea. "You sure you want to? I mean, I'm even sure if I'm that good of a cook, certainly nothing like Aika. I may cook things that look good, but I'm not sure about the taste, since I was desperate enough with Keiji and…" Rei was going into something of a ramble, embarrassed a little at the request, with Naruto speaking up.

"I'm sure it'll taste good, and it'll probably taste better than anything I've cooked for myself." Naruto said to Rei, who blushed up at the compliment and having her heart beat up a little bit faster. "Okay, before we got off the track, what's your next question?"

"Next question?" Rei blinked, before recalling what they were doing. "Oh, that… Hm, how about… What types of girls do you like?" Rei suddenly asked of stunned Naruto, with him blinking at this one several times, while Rei had gotten a Cheshire-like smile.

"Oh, looks like I might've found myself a gold mine here, heh." She chuckled, with Naruto pulling himself back together.

"I just wasn't expecting _that_ kind of question from you of all people." Naruto defended himself. "After all, if I recall correctly, you aren't exactly interested in all that "girly" stuff."

"Well, you weren't expecting that I would be into cooking either. And I'm not into all of that glamour girly stuff." Rei argued. "I'm just genuinely curious about a pretty normal subject. Well, if this makes you uncomfortable, then what types of people you like in general?" Rei changed the question, with Naruto, after some thinking, answering on it.

"That's a bit easier, thank you. Well, I'd say the people like you and the rest of our gang." Naruto answered truthfully and bluntly.

"Gotta be a little more specific here, `cause there must be some traits that you like more than others, right?"

"Yeah, you are right. I guess I like people that don't put up any facades and are direct about who they are." Naruto elaborated to Rei, who nodded to him. "I've been observing other people all my life and I think I've gotten pretty good at reading them, and from what I saw, most of them put up all kinds of facades. All just to hide away that they are greedy, lustful, prideful and all that stuff, as well as to appear like they are the best people in the world. With you and the rest of the Squad, there are no facades, no masks and no lies. You are just who you are and I really enjoy it, being with you and seeing the real you. Just like with you, Rei. I always find it very refreshing and even nice that you don't mince words, and have no problem telling what is on your mind. That and your ruby eyes are probably some of your best qualities." Rei's face heated up at this compliment.

"M-My r-ruby eyes?!" She stammered after she had heard the compliment. "M-My eyes aren't all that great, just a normal set with Sharingan attached and that's all to them."

"I'd disagree, but whatever you say. Sorry if I've made you uncomfortable." Naruto spoke up, with Rei shaking her head at this one.

"No, it's fine. I-It's actually was the first time when someone had complimented me in such a… romantic way." Rei said as her face was starting to hit another shade of red, with Naruto raising his brow at this one. "You know, you should be more careful with these compliments, or you could be misinterpreted and people would start thinking that you are d-dating both me and Akemi at the same time."

"Dating Akemi and you at the same time?" Naruto blinked at this one, thinking it all over. "I never really had any ulterior motive to compliment the two of you, only pointed out what was obvious and good about you two. But, if you think that's for the best, I'll be more careful with what I'm saying."

"Yes, please. Though it's nice, I wouldn't want Akemi to get the wrong idea about your relations. She is a bit of a romantic type and can often interpret things from a not so logical perspective." Rei said, calming down and letting herself cool off after such a heat treatment.

"Well I personally don't see anything wrong with Naruto continuing complimenting like that every now and then." The pair immediately turned their heads towards Aika, who just came into the shop and sat at their table. "Speaking from personal experience, a woman does love being reminded just how beautiful she is in the eyes of her husband or boyfriend. Shin rarely misses a chance to let out a compliment or two towards me in a day, especially when we are alone."

"I-I'll keep that in mind." Naruto nodded, before taking the initiative. "If you don't mind me asking, Aika, what are you doing in here, in the Shinobi district? You usually don't come anywhere near this place, if memory serves me right."

"I was just checking up on one of my old patients that live in this part of Konoha. I may not be a very popular person among most of Shinobi, but there are those that much rather trust me than Tsunade with medical checkups." Aika explained to the pair. "I was on my way home when I've heard the two of you talking about Naruto dating you, Rei, and my dear sweetie Akemi at the same time. Naturally, I got more than a little curious, so…"

"I-I can assure you that we aren't dating and there's nothing of such sort going on between the three of us. I was just telling Naruto to watch what he's saying out loud and…" Rei hurried up with the explanations, before Aika stopped her.

"Relax, Rei. I know you three well enough as to understand there is nothing of such sort going on between you." Aika smiled to them, before standing up. "Well, I see that you two are a bit busy at the moment with your academic duties, so I'll leave you two to it." Both Naruto and Rei realized that they've completely forgotten about their scheduling while they were talking here.

"Yeah, we should probably get this sorted out as soon as possible. Thanks for reminding about it." Naruto nodded to Aika, with him and Rei picking up the papers.

"No problem, hope you'll be able to teach those kids there something useful for a change." Aika smiled to them as she was on her way to the exit before recalling something. "Ah, and about you three being in a relationship. I can understand that it's not something people here may look at lightly upon, but to me and Shingen, that's not something to be raising any alarms over, just so you two know." That immediately got the instant reaction from Naruto and Rei, as they stopped sorting out their papers and turned to face Aika.

"Um, pardon? What do you mean exactly by that?" Rei asked of her, with Naruto having the same idea.

"Exactly what it sounded like: I've got no objections if you three were in relations together." Aika simply stated, seeing the clear shock on the faces of her adopted son and de-facto adopted daughter. "Perhaps I should clarify a little. You may not know it, but among Uzumaki limited polygamy, with two or three women being married to one man, wasn't something all that uncommon, considering that Uzumaki had a very large disproportion in terms of male to female population. From what Shingen had told me, there were at least two women on one man in Uzu. According to him and Mito, the reason why it was like that stems from Uzumaki's large losses in male population due to multiple wars with neighboring clans and invaders two hundred years ago. After dust had settled, Uzumaki males were simply too few and women were simply too many, so in order to effectively rebuild their nation, a limited polygamy was introduced, with the limit set at three wives on one husband as the max. Soon enough, this necessity has become a cultural and normal thing for Uzumaki."

"But you aren't an Uzumaki, so how can _you_ be so cool with this?" Rei asked of Aika.

"Rei, I was raised by an Uzumaki and while I'm not exactly one in blood, in culture and behavior, I'm far closer to Uzumaki than Konoha's population." Aika reminded to Rei. "Although it wasn't something I could wrap my head around and objected to Shingen ever doing such a thing, to which he agreed. But after he and I've lived in Uzu for some time, I've come in terms with this concept, and even didn't oppose to him bringing Akane in to our family as a sister wife."

"My aunt? She and Shingen were close?" Naruto was surprised to hear this one, with Aika nodding to her.

"Oh, very close, nearly inseparable at times. She was actually both my main rival for Shingen and my closest and best friend." Aika smiled at the memory of Akane. "She did step down when she understood that Shingen and I loved each other, but I knew that Shin had feelings for her even after we were married. I've thought to myself and figured, that if I were to share Shingen with someone, I would only trust him to Akane. Had things went well, Akemi and Hiryu would've had a second mother and one or two more siblings to play with, but then an invasion of Uzu happened and Akane, much like most of the Uzumaki there, fell in battle, protecting their home. Shingen still can't forget or forgive himself for not being able to save her when he had the chance, or preventing the imprisonment of Founders and fall of Uzumaki."

"You sound like he had fought in that battle." Naruto pointed out, with Aika nodding to it.

"He did, as almost every Uzumaki, including your mother, Rei, Reiko, have come to their ancestral home to defend it. For Shingen, it was his sacred duty as one of Seven Archangels to defend Uzu with everything he had, as it been to Akane." Aika somberly said.

"Seven Archangels? Are they like Konoha's Twelve Guardian Shinobi that guard Daimyo?" Rei asked of Aika.

"In duties, maybe, but in substance… The Seven Archangels were always the fiercest, mightiest and deadliest warriors of Uzumaki, feared and respected by their enemies and friends. They pledged their lives and souls to protection of Uzumaki, First Prince and Founders, and they upheld this duty for five centuries straight, ever since they were chosen and blessed to battle by Founders. I don't know the whole story about them, but from what Mito had told me, each Archangel carries within them a piece of divinity, and that they have first appeared in time of greatest of needs for Uzumaki, having saved their people from certain death." Aika told the pair, who looked nothing short of amazed. "The Archangels have been the part of Uzumaki life for the entirety of its existence and being chosen as one of them is considered to be the highest possible honor for an Uzumaki. Akane and Shingen have both been chosen as Archangels shortly before the invasion of Uzu… And after it was over, there were far fewer Uzumaki left, and only two Archangels."

"Since Shingen is here at Konoha, then where is the second Archangel? Please don't tell me that it's Kushina." Naruto asked of Aika, who chuckled at this one.

"Don't worry. As far as I and Shin know, she was never even considered as an Archangel. No, it's unknown where the remaining Archangel is, but what I can tell you is that when Shin does find him, there will only be one Archangel remaining." Aika grimly stated to them, with Naruto and Rei exchanging looks. "Shin told you that the Founders were trapped in their temple thanks to a traitor. And he is pretty certain that it was the work of an Archangel, and all but one of them were found on the battlefield, and later when Akane was sent to deal with the demon… For Shin, finding this traitor is not just the matter of pride, honor and duty, but also the matter of justice and vengeance, as well as vendetta. And I'm in support of it. Now, I think I've said a bit too much already, so I'll be taking my leave. Naruto, I'm expecting you home before nightfall." Aika said to him before leaving the shop, with Rei and Naruto turning to each other, until she spoke up.

"Let's… Let's just focus on the schedule, okay?" Rei suggested, with Naruto eagerly nodding to her and agreeing.

"Yeah, sure. Now, I think we were on… Second Shinobi World War, the one glossed over?" Naruto regained his composure, as he took up the paper and looked at it.

"Yes, that one. At least four lessons and…" And they've returned to their work, with Naruto already putting aside all that he has learned, while Rei lingered a little bit on what she has heard today.

'He said that he would like to try my cooking… And that I have pretty eyes… And Uzumaki and polygamy mix… Ugh, what are you thinking about here, Rei?! Pull yourself together!' Rei angrily shouted at herself in mind. 'We've got a mission to take care first, so worry about your personal life later!'

* * *

 **Hope you don't mind that I've decided to focus up more on Naruto and Rei, decided to give them a bit of spotlight. Now, onto some details.**

 **First up, why Naruto and Rei are so dedicated to their work. The simple and most accurate answer would be the professionalism and also an honest desire to show that they can and will teach those kids something they really need to know.**

 **Next up on the list, The Seven Archangels. Yeah, they are a thing, and if you are wondering about them and what kind of a power they were and are, then think of them as Seven Deadly Sins from their respective anime. Archangels have certainly earned their reputation, and next chapters will reveal more about them and before you ask, I won't spoil how they are chosen and made, not just yet.**

 **As for the romantic stuff, the seeds have been planted with Rei, but aside from that, I'm not revealing any more. Now as for Lion of the West, I'm still working on it, but I'm not sure if it'll be coming in this year or not. I will try to get a chapter before this year is through, but I can't promise you anything.**

 **Comment, review, follow, favor, question and suggest, and happy holidays everyone and Happy New Year to all of you!**

 **See Ya!**


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